Question:
I realize I could call the US passport
office to ask about this, but I'm
trying to save money since their
phone support is a pay phone call.
I have recently decided to visit
Prague in a few months. I dug up
my passport (which hasn't been used
since 2005) to make sure it was
in good shape, not needing renewal,
etc. Here's the situation: - The
passport was issued in April 2005,
when I was 16. I turned 16 in March
2005. - However, the passport expiration
date is April 2005. Since passports
issued when one is 16 are supposed
to be good for 10 years, I think
this expiration date is wrong.
Questions:
- Is the expiration date actually
incorrect? Should it be good for
10 years from the issue date, or
did the policy change some time
since 2005? I'm guessing that if
it shouldn't have expired yet, I'll
have to call the US passport office
anyway to tell them about this.
- Passport renewals are possible
if the passport was issued when
the person was age 16 or older.
Can I then get a renewal for this
one, or do you think I'd need to
apply for a new one? I'd think the
renewal would be fine, but since
my old passport is apparently for
a juvenile, I'm afraid they won't
accept my renewal application.
Answer:
1. Renewals are only for emergencies.
2. You may
have been under 16 when the passport
was applied for.
3. New passports
are the digitized kind, centrally
manufactured. You might find the
information at the US Embassy London
site more user-friendly: http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_web/acs/passports/renewal.htm
Renewals are
when you have an expiring passport
and get a new one -- you don't apply
for a new one, you send in your
old one and get a renewal Information
on the State Department's Passport
Site would appear to indicate that
you would have to apply for a NEW
passport since you were not yet
_17_ when your expired passport
was issued. See the above referenced
URL: [Were over age 16 when it was
issued; and Still have the same
name as in passport (or you can
legally document your name change).]
You would have had to have been
age _17_ (a year older than you
were) when the passport was issued
) in order to renew it.
Is the
expiration date actually incorrect?
Should it be good for 10 years from
the issue date, or did the policy
change some time since 2005? I'm
guessing that if it shouldn't have
expired yet, I'll have to call the
US passport office anyway to tell
them about this.
Based on what
you have posted it would seem that
the expiration date might be incorrect,
you would have to contact a Passport
Office to determine this. Check
the following URL and see if you
can get more information by email.
http://travel.state.gov/ppt_listserv.html
You may also
want to obtain your passport records
to determine the background concerning
the issuance of your passport in
2005, you can do this with the instructions
at: http://travel.state.gov/passport_records.html
I don't see anything about " Renewals
are only for emergencies."
