We may possibly be traveling in the late summer to Canada, and our children do not yet have a passport. So we ventured out to get one for them, since you are now required to have one if you are entering Canada or Mexico via airplane.
It's been a long time since I got my own passport, so I got a refresher on the process, and I thought I would share what I learned. When you apply, you must surrender your original certified copy of your birth certificate (or other acceptable ID) for processing. This was unexpected, so we quickly realized we needed to get another certified copy of their birth certificates, since it's a little unnerving to have absolutely no official identification. I found a great resource for getting this done very quickly and painlessly: www.vitalchek.com. It was really easy to put in our order for both kids' birth certificates online and get them shipped here within days (from another state). I did this yesterday afternoon, and I already have a tracking number for the shipment today! I was very impressed with the speed and also with how they take some very good measures to verify your identity.
We also learned that it really pays to check over the application carefully and make sure you have everything required before waiting in the post office line. This rude guy got up to the counter after waiting for almost an hour, and he did not have the required documents. He cursed out the unflappable post office workers and stomped off, trying to make it their fault somehow. Anyway, you don't want to be that guy.
The main lesson is that you should get your passport NOW before you really need it. Expedite fees add up quickly. Try to find the least-trafficked post office to go for your application process, since lines can take a really long time. Click here to find the passport processing location options closest to you. Also, even if the processing office offers photographs onsite, they are more expensive and it prolongs your wait, so it's probably better to get them done at a Walgreen's or something before you go.
Where is YOUR passport? What about your kids'? Are they expired? Check on that today before it's an emergency.
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