BajaNomad

passport renewal

BAJA.DESERT.RAT - 9-18-2017 at 07:50 PM

Hola,

just discovered my wifes passport expired in january, this year. will she be able to get an fmm with the expired passport ? any forgiveness ?

if not, what is the fastest way to get her a new one. need it in about 3 weeks.

i thank you in advance,

BIEN SALUD, DA RAT

AKgringo - 9-18-2017 at 08:23 PM

I have never used the expedited service, but in June I got a passport and passport card for my grandson using the standard application. It took just under three weeks to reach us in Anchorage. I submitted the application at the post office and paid with a postal money order.

My renewal a year ago took the same amount of time. Here is the official site; https://www.usa.gov/passport

There are also private web services that charge for expediting service, but I don't know anyone who has used them.

rhintransit - 9-18-2017 at 09:21 PM

You can go to a Passport agency and apply for an expedited renewal. I used the San Diego one, it usually takes a week, mine was quicker. I did speak to several people there who had flown to SD because they couldn't get appointments elsewhere. Note, you MUST have an appointment, which you can make on line.

surabi - 9-18-2017 at 11:38 PM

Forgiveness? From the immigration department of a foreign country? What do you think Mexico is, Cali south? Surely you jest. Of course she'll need a valid passport.

toronja - 9-19-2017 at 10:41 AM

I will say it is *possible* (I have seen an FMM granted on an expired passport, relatively recently) BUT I would definitely never plan on it or encourage trying it. If you got into an accident who knows how the police or insurance would respond. You have time to do an expedited renewal, as others have said.

sancho - 9-19-2017 at 11:58 AM

The wife did it all online, I told her it was a mistake. I believe
it went to Philidelphia from So Cal., took forever. I would
go the Local Post Office route, don't know the return time though.
Expired passport for an fmm, perhaps. Possible denial. If I was faced with
that situation, I would be more concerned with the driver being
Imm compliant

chrishaynesusa - 9-20-2017 at 07:26 AM

dont forget to ask for the expanded pages edition of the passport.

"How many pages do you get in a passport?
Of those 28 pages, only 17 that were valid for the visas and stamps. After January 1st, 2016 passports issued are the 28 page book with the free option to get the 52 page passport book. Many countries have a requirement that your passport have a few pages empty when entering their country."

SFandH - 9-20-2017 at 09:13 AM

It is interesting to note that the U.S. State Department accepts expired passports as proof of citizenship when you renew it. But, I know, other countries probably will not.

BajaGeoff - 9-20-2017 at 02:29 PM

We got an expedited passport for our daughter in less than a week from the San Diego passport office. All you need to to is make an appointment and have documents (plane tickets/insurance) that prove you are traveling out of the country in the near future. Here is a link to the office: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/info...

Alan - 9-24-2017 at 04:27 PM

Something I had never heard of but last year my daughter booked a two week vacation in Europe with a friend. When she landed in London she learned neither one of them could go on to the continent because their passports were GOING TO expire within 6 months???

She was devastated! She tried to explain they only had a two week vacation and her passport wasn't due to expire for another 5 months. She showed proof of their return flight confirmation, all to no avail.

In an effort to try to salvage her vacation and minimize all the cancelation charges she was facing they tried to get expedited passports. That turned into a total mess! Because you have to send your passport along with your application. Now they are in London with no passports at all. Long story short everything got lost in the process so now they can't even come home. Finally after not being able to make their return flight she listened to the advice I gave her when she first called and told me they couldn't go on from England which was to go to the American Embassy.

Her friend was issued a temporary passport to come home but they couldn't issue one to my daughter because her passport had been received and processed and shipped but somehow FedEx had shipped it to Seattle? We live SoCal!!! The airline had her rebooked on a return flight a week later so every day she checked her tracking number as her passport toured the US. She finally had to stop by the FedEx office on her way to the airport and thankfully it had just arrived.

I had never heard passports became invalid 6 months before their expiration but when talking with friends after this incident they were all well aware of that.

Has anyone experienced this when trying to enter Baja?

Bob and Susan - 9-24-2017 at 05:33 PM

mexico has the 6 month rule

better renew if its going to expire

surabi - 9-24-2017 at 06:01 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Alan  
Something I had never heard of but last year my daughter booked a two week vacation in Europe with a friend. When she landed in London she learned neither one of them could go on to the continent because their passports were GOING TO expire within 6 months???

She was devastated! She tried to explain they only had a two week vacation and her passport wasn't due to expire for another 5 months. She showed proof of their return flight confirmation, all to no avail.

In an effort to try to salvage her vacation and minimize all the cancelation charges she was facing they tried to get expedited passports. That turned into a total mess! Because you have to send your passport along with your application. Now they are in London with no passports at all. Long story short everything got lost in the process so now they can't even come home. Finally after not being able to make their return flight she listened to the advice I gave her when she first called and told me they couldn't go on from England which was to go to the American Embassy.

Her friend was issued a temporary passport to come home but they couldn't issue one to my daughter because her passport had been received and processed and shipped but somehow FedEx had shipped it to Seattle? We live SoCal!!! The airline had her rebooked on a return flight a week later so every day she checked her tracking number as her passport toured the US. She finally had to stop by the FedEx office on her way to the airport and thankfully it had just arrived.

I had never heard passports became invalid 6 months before their expiration but when talking with friends after this incident they were all well aware of that.

Has anyone experienced this when trying to enter Baja?


Hopefully she'll listen to her parent next time, huh? Most travelers know to go to the nearest consulate/embassy of their home country if they lose or otherwise have a passport problem. Bet she's a whiz on her smartphone, tho.

Sr.vienes - 9-24-2017 at 06:13 PM

I know I posted this before but if you send your passport in to get a passport card before your passport needs to be replaced, be sure to put in a big DO NOT DESTROY note on your passport. They will often punch holes in your perfectly good passport, making it unusable.

Alm - 9-24-2017 at 06:19 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Alan  
Something I had never heard of but last year my daughter booked a two week vacation in Europe with a friend. When she landed in London she learned neither one of them could go on to the continent because their passports were GOING TO expire within 6 months???

Many countries apply this rule to visitors and new immigrants - no visas are issued if passport validity is less than the date when you expect to leave the country. Border services often interpret this as the maximum stay with this type of visa - in case of a visitor this is typically 6 months. (Or - no entry with this passport if there is a visa waiver agreement between the two countries, i.e. visa not required but rules of admission remain the same). She should've familiarized herself with entry requirements of that country BEFORE buying plane tickets.

Foreigners entering the US must have passport valid for at least 6 months. Except for nationals of certain countries, though the list of those exempted is half-page long.