Do you need to leave the country in the next 48 hours? Don’t have a passport? Or has your passport expired? Because of your situation, it’s simply just impossible for you to apply for a passport and have it routinely processed. With current passport processing times of four to six weeks, a routine passport application obviously isn’t an option.
In family emergencies, you wouldn’t be able to wait that long for your passport to arrive. This applies to family emergencies where you’ll need to travel out of the country as soon as possible. Good thing there’s an option for you to get a passport faster than is regularly allowed. For family emergencies, you’ll need an emergency passport.
An emergency passport is what you need in case of a family emergency that requires you to leave the country within the next two days. Emergency situations cannot wait, so emergency passports cut the waiting time you’ll spend waiting for the processing of your application. Having an emergency passport ensures that you are able to travel outside the country sooner, not later.
But what do you need to apply for an emergency passport? First of all, you need to contact the National Passport Information Agency (NPIA). This is the agency tasked with handling all your emergency passport needs at any time of the day. Simply give them a call, and they will help you set a schedule with the nearest passport agency. The passport agency will then be the one to help you obtain an emergency passport.
There are times, however, when the NPIA is unable to set an appointment for you. You shouldn’t worry when this happens. Instead, stay on the line and you will be forwarded to a customer service representative (CSR). The CSR will then be the one to assist you regarding your application for an emergency passport.
There are instances where you need to leave, yet aren’t faced with a very urgent situation that would require an emergency passport. If this situation applies to you, then you can just get your passport application expedited. Expedited passports are sought out by travelers who don’t need to travel within 48 hours, yet have to leave within the next four weeks.
The expedited passport option is a kind of a value-added service. And because of this, your passport application will be given priority over the routine passport applications. Thus expedited passports are a lot faster to process. And as a value-added service, you can expect an expedited passport to have an extra fee added to the regular passport application fees you need to pay. This is a non-issue, of course, if you need to get your passport quickly and don’t want to break a sweat doing it.
In cases where you really need to leave the country soon for family emergencies, you can always apply for an emergency US passport. Applying for one cuts the processing time to just 48 hours. However, if you aren’t really that in a hurry yet need to travel in four to ten weeks, then you can instead apply for an expedited passport. An expedited passport gives you a quick and convenient alternative to the routine new passport application.
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