It wasn’t something I ever really thought of, but I guess it’s true, depending on the circumstances.
Imagine being a passport holder – in fact, even being a soldier for 8 years! – and when the time came to renew your passport, the government said no, because of your name. That’s exactly what happened to a man in the U.K. not long ago.
Continue reading “You Can Be Denied A Passport Because Of Your Name”
Imagine visiting a foreign country and when you’re ready to come home, you’re refused entry onto your plane and thrown into jail because officials think you were in the country illegally. That’s exactly what happened to two Americans last week.
Whether you need to get your very first passport or renew your old one (and if you do, give the government plenty of extra time before your trip), you’re supposed to get a new photo taken. There are all sorts of rules you have to follow for the photo to be acceptable, so although some people use an app, many others choose to go somewhere to get the photo done, rather than do it at home.
A quick Google search will show that the photo labs at Walgreens and CVS advertise doing it, and you can usually find a coupon for either, to boot.
But lots of other places do passport photos, too. Costco and other big box places may offer passport photo services. Some privately owned portrait studios do them, and most portrait studios in bigger stores such as Walmart or JCPenney can take your passport photo, as well.
Some places even have self service passport photo booths, which can be really convenient. However if you decide to go that route, make sure you don’t use this photo booth:
Continue reading “Need A Passport Photo? Don’t Get It Done Here”
It’s been well documented that the completion of some of the U.S. government’s responsibilities has slowed considerably in the past couple of years, due to the current regime’s understaffed government agencies.
It’s difficult to get things done, especially big things, when so much of the government’s staff are only “acting” heads. And when you move government employees around from one place to another, it causes its own headaches. Right now, for example, the Global Entry enrollment center at LAX has closed its doors indefinitely so its Customs and Border Patrol workers can work on (*cough*) “the humanitarian and security crisis on our southwest border,” an agency representative said.
So when we saw this tweet a couple of days ago, we figured it was just more of the same slowdown SNAFU. Or is it?
Continue reading “Did The U.S. State Department Just Triple How Long It Takes To Get A Passport?”
Happy Sunday to all of our travel friends, both near and far! Here are some articles we’ve read from other bloggers (and other sources) that we think you may like, as well, so we’re passing them along.
