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Passing the Passport Challenge

Posted on April 2nd, 2008 by reviewer.
Categories: Social Media.

I love to see new places, but I really hate the hassle of getting ready to travel. I have to clean the house, pack, stop the mail, book hotels, apply for a visa and sometimes I even have to renew my passport. Renewing my passport is definitely a task that must be done since I can’t go to different countries without it, but that doesn’t mean I have to like the process.

Getting everything together, sending it off and waiting for it to return always seems like such a long process. First I have to pay someone to take an official passport picture. And usually, it takes more time and money than a non-photogenic picture is worth.

Then I also have to fill out an application and hunt down official documents to prove who I am. For example, when I got married I decided to change my last name to match my husband’s. Suddenly, I wasn’t the same person listed in my passport. So I had to track down a certified copy of my marriage certificate and mail it into a passport agency with my application and a $75 fee.

One of the hardest parts of renewing your passport is waiting for it to come back. It can take weeks and even months to be processed. Of course you can pay extra to get a passport processed faster, but I don’t know what I’d rather loose - more time or more money.

Depending on where you live, there may be a business that strives to make this time consuming process a little smoother though. For example, in North County passport photos can be taken in a matter of minutes and they will help you get everything together and sent off.

So, if you find that the time to renew your passport has come again, try to find the people who can make the job as easy and fast as possible.