Post: #1

If you've been procrastinating about getting or renewing your passport, it's time to get going because fees are rising soon. Of course this won't stop me from traveling or renewing but I know the psychological deterrant this move can have on people who arent exposed to travel.

Adult passport book fees will jump to $135 from $100 while those for minors will increase to $105 from $85 starting July 13.

Renewals fees on adult passports will shoot up to $110 from $75, according to the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs. Twenty-four other fees, ranging from judicial services to reporting the births of American children born abroad, also are changing.

Blame it on technology. The "switch to the e-passport with the chip and the additional security features are what is increasing the costs," said John Echard, a spokesman for the Bureau of Consular Affairs. "It's a lot more expensive to make passports now than it used to be."

Since October 2006 new passports and renewals have an electronic chip embedded in the cover that carries all the information in the passport as well as facial-recognition data. (Glad I got my passport in 2003 even though I will have to renew eventually) Your passport picture is digitally mapped and stored on the chip and when the book is swiped, the information shows up on a computer screen for the screener. Not surprisingly, the government refers to this new version as an e-passport.

The covers are considerably thicker than the old-style passport, and the pages adorned with historic Americana sketches. There is an international symbol on the cover that alerts screeners that it's an e-passport.

There's a new charge that frequent international travelers won't like: $82 for additional passport visa pages. It used to be free but Echard said it's a time-consuming process to add pages, which is done by trained staff by hand. (OUCH)

Passports typically have 24 pages but frequent travelers can request 52 pages at the onset free of charge.

Passport card fees also are rising, to $55 from $45 for adults and $40 from $35 for children. Passport cards look like a driver's license and allow you to enter the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda at land border crossings or sea ports-of-call. They're typically used by border residents who travel in and out of the country for work.

Fees paid to the Bureau of Consular Affairs cover the costs of everything from making and issuing passports to helping Americans bring home relatives who died overseas or assisting crime victims. The bureau also is in charge of evacuating U.S. citizen in the event of a natural disaster.

Last year those services totaled an estimated $300 million, Echard said.

Last month, the State Department also rewrote its policy on changing the gender designation in a passport, for transgender people. The rules now call for a doctor's note explaining that the person is in clinical treatment for gender transition. The old policy required sexual reassignment surgery before a gender change could be made on a passport.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/get-you...2010-07-03

Post: #2

That chip excuse is bullshit. I'll be surprised if it costs more than 2 bucks

Post: #3

That's total bullshit.. It's just another excuse to rip off the taxpayer. Especially the adding pages fee.

I renewed mine in March and I must say the new "look" of the passport with the art on the pages is nice though.

If your worried about the data transmitted from your passport or any other RFID card Identity Stronghold sells RFID blocking sleeves.

http://www.idstronghold.com/Secure-Sleev...iQodLTPHxw

Post: #4

I had to get additional pages in my passport in May of 2009 in the Los Angeles Passport Office before my trip to Berlin/Stockholm and It was FREE so I'm glad I got on it before they started charging for it! $82 for them to sew in some pages is ridiculous!

Post: #5

This is retarded. it costs almost as much as a new passport does now to add pages? I got through on average at least 2 pages a month in my passport. Looks like my cost for being american just sky rocketed. Wish i could have gotten this info 2 weeks ago when i was in HK, then i could have just added more pages no problem, looks like im not gonna have the time to now before the fees go into effect.

Post: #6

Good news...I was flying next to a Black Passport Holder (US Diplomat) on the flight down to Brasilia last night/am and I was complaining to him about the new charges and he told me that for FREE any US Passport holder can go into any embassy abroad and add new pages to their existing Passport. I know people dont want to hit an embassy while on vacation but this is at least a good option If you have time to kill. Back to BSB kicking it I have a happy hour date .

Post: #7

I'd like to debunk that myth - that Black Passport holder did not provide you with accurate information. It doesn't matter where you go to obtain extra visa pages for your passport it will cost $82 - Embassy or not. Sorry.

(07-09-2010 03:05 PM)InternationalSwagger Wrote:  Good news...I was flying next to a Black Passport Holder (US Diplomat) on the flight down to Brasilia last night/am and I was complaining to him about the new charges and he told me that for FREE any US Passport holder can go into any embassy abroad and add new pages to their existing Passport. I know people dont want to hit an embassy while on vacation but this is at least a good option If you have time to kill. Back to BSB kicking it I have a happy hour date .

Post: #8

I'd like to think that the gentleman who was coming down to Administer a Department in the Brazilian Consulate in Brasilia that I was sitting next to in 1st class would provide with me with more solid information than someone on a game forum with a 1 post count. Sorry.

Post: #9

I'm actually the Department Official quoted in the original article above. You should visitany U.S. Embassy or Consulate website to see the current fees or additionally travel.state.gov. Safe travels!

(07-28-2010 07:43 AM)InternationalSwagger Wrote:  I'd like to think that the gentleman who was coming down to Administer a Department in the Brazilian Consulate in Brasilia that I was sitting next to in 1st class would provide with me with more solid information than someone on a game forum with a 1 post count. Sorry.

Post: #10

Maybe so with your diplo86 username and this profile I found http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnechard now your retort isnt totally unbelievable. With that said at 8:30am shouldnt you be pumping out some correspondence from various embassies and not crusing boards?...I'm just saying...But come to think of it you might just be trying to get your game right & with all the access you have all over the world as a "State Department Official" I applaud you for that.

Nevertheless, I had friends last year that traveled to Belize and had pages added at the embassy free of charge so I still think It's worth a shot. And from what the Embassy Department Head told me albeit after 6 hours of drinking and interesting conversation about his career that they won't be strictly enforcing the adding pages aspect of $82 which I think is a good idea. Now renewing or getting a new one sure but adding pages...I don't think so. Now get back to work and stop wasting our tax dollars .

Post: #11

Applying passport can take 4 to 6 week is normally processing time. The price is very lower than booklet.

USA Passports