Know What To Bring With You For A Minor Passport Application
The days are gone when airlines will just believe that you have your own child when traveling. You will need to show identification for any child who is traveling. Even an infant must have a child passport to travel so you will need to get one if you want to fly on an airplane. This includes travel to even Canada or Mexico.
It is not that difficult to get a child passport. You just need to be prepared ahead of time before you go in and apply for one. You will only need to renew a children’s passport every five years and the photo can be added every six months to update, as your child will change in their look as they grow.
Your children’s legal birth certificate will be needed. It needs to be the actual certificate with the seal and not a copy or the little card that you may have. They will submit it with the application so know this in advance. You will get it back but you might want more than one copy so you have one on hand while they keep it.
You the parent will need proof of your relationship with your child. This could be the birth certificate or adoption papers that have a court seal. Both parents do not need to be present at the application process if there is a notarized signature by the absent parent for the application. You can get these forms online and print one out. If you are the only parent you need to prove that as well with a legal document such as divorce papers showing custody or a death certificate.
You will also need your child’s social security number for the DS-11 application that is submitted to the federal government. It is best to bring your child’s social security card with you just in case. They will not collect this piece of material.
You will also need identification for yourself as the parent. A passport, driver’s license or military identification is an example of the accepted forms of identification that is accepted. You can also look online at their official site for all of the accepted forms of proper identification.
You can bring your own photos to the application process but they need to be certain specs to be acceptable. They are very stringent on this so do not bring a class photo or baby picture. Go to a professional photographer and have them take a passport photo and they will know what to do. You will need two pictures. Some places will also take your photo for you so check in advance where you are applying.
Be prepared for the costs of a US passport as well. They are around eighty dollars each to date so plan for this. The exact amount of a child passport can be calculated on the USPS website or other sites. Have all of your documentation ready, photos and enough of a payment to get a children passport. You will receive it in about six weeks so plan ahead and be prepared.
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