Procrastinating........

[Cassie 8]

So I am freaking out a bit. I need to renew my passport and I just can't work myself up to do research and the paperwork to get it done.

Did I mention that it expires in a month? And that my mom is in the hospital again and I am afraid that as soon as I put the application in the mail I am going to need it?

*sigh*

/end rant.

[JillA 2]

I think the process has gotten a bit easier.... Kathryn posted a little while back a link to some info that indicates the process has become a little better from what I recall.

[Jasman0717 9]

We had a nightmare renewing Claudeth's Filipino passport but we also did a name change so had to have all the documentation from the K-1 plus her AOS and marriage certificate,

[MapleLeafBaby 1]

So I am freaking out a bit. I need to renew my passport and I just can't work myself up to do research and the paperwork to get it done.

Did I mention that it expires in a month? And that my mom is in the hospital again and I am afraid that as soon as I put the application in the mail I am going to need it?

*sigh*

/end rant.

Well, I could give you my good news experience...

They have a new form for renewals... it is a quick short form. Make sure you get it in before you expire... WAAAAAY easier... No guarantor req'd, nothing! One sheet, you fill out, sign... go in and process in 10 mins... you can get a rush on it for an extra $30. They say that you need proof of travel for it to be expidited (like a plane ticket etc...), not true.... you can either say that you are driving across boarder to visit a very sick relative, or that you are due at your immigration lawyers office within a week and you must have your new passport in hand (that's what I said...which was true) but all they make you do is write on a blank piece of paper your reason for expediting and that you are driving across the boarder....

You can have a new passport within 5 days

I dropped mine off last Tuesday and just picked it up plus if you drop off first thing in the morn, the office is quiet...

Here is the link to download the new form:

http://www.ppt.gc.ca/cdn/ren.aspx

Good luck

[Carlawarla 1]

So I am freaking out a bit. I need to renew my passport and I just can't work myself up to do research and the paperwork to get it done.

Did I mention that it expires in a month? And that my mom is in the hospital again and I am afraid that as soon as I put the application in the mail I am going to need it?

*sigh*

/end rant.

I'm in the same boat Cassie. I'm going to apply for mine this month even though it expires in July because I'm worried about the wait times due to the June 1st ruling about everyone crossing needing one.

The "new" system of getting a new one is only for some people. If you're like me, getting a new one in my now married name is going to necessitate me to do it the old way. Kathryn however did get hers back really quickly, so here's hoping that you do as well.

So sorry m'dear to hear about your Mom again. How is she doing? My thoughts are with you. Get your application in soon!

[Reba 2]

They have a new form for renewals... it is a quick short form. Make sure you get it in before you expire... WAAAAAY easier... No guarantor req'd, nothing! One sheet, you fill out, sign... go in and process in 10 mins... you can get a rush on it for an extra $30. They say that you need proof of travel for it to be expidited (like a plane ticket etc...), not true.... you can either say that you are driving across boarder to visit a very sick relative, or that you are due at your immigration lawyers office within a week and you must have your new passport in hand (that's what I said...which was true) but all they make you do is write on a blank piece of paper your reason for expediting and that you are driving across the boarder....

You can have a new passport within 5 days

I dropped mine off last Tuesday and just picked it up plus if you drop off first thing in the morn, the office is quiet...

Here is the link to download the new form:

http://www.ppt.gc.ca/cdn/ren.aspx

Good luck

In country renewals however are not available to those of us who are already legal permanent residents in the US. It has to be done by mail, with a completely different application form.

[MissStacey 1]

I phoned the nearest Canadian Consulate (Dallas) on Friday to ask them to send me out an application for the new simplified passport application. I got in the mail yesterday. It looks pretty easy and straightforward-I'm gonna get to mine pretty soon. I expire in August but I don't have any immediate travel plans, so might as well get it done.

[Emancipation 2]

Cassie I feel for ya!! I'll have to do mine this year (expires in 2010) but if I end up NOT getting my 10 yr GC this year, I'll need a fresh passport for my fancy stamp next year

Just take the first step friend.. that's how everything starts.. one baby step!

[Carlawarla 1]

I phoned the nearest Canadian Consulate (Dallas) on Friday to ask them to send me out an application for the new simplified passport application. I got in the mail yesterday. It looks pretty easy and straightforward-I'm gonna get to mine pretty soon. I expire in August but I don't have any immediate travel plans, so might as well get it done.

You can download it from the Canada site MissStacey. Maybe you're not going to change your name? If you are going to change it for the new passport, you can't do the new simplified.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

i read the criteria - to me (and I may be missing something) that when mine expires later this year I meet the criteria they list so this form should be ok, no?

reba - when you made the comment about Legal perm resident in the US...I assume that means you've been there (here? ) a while longer then me?

IMPORTANT – You may use this form only if:

you submit a previous Canadian passport that:

was issued to you within the last SIX (6) years from the date of reception of this current application (If the previous passport was applied for by mail from the USA, the passport must have been issued on or after August 1, 2003.),

was/is valid for FIVE (5) years,

is not damaged,

was never reported as being lost or stolen, and

was issued in Canada (as indicated under “Issuing Authority” on page 2 of the submitted passport);

the name on this application form is exactly the same as the name that appears on the submitted passport; and

you were at least 16 years of age at the time of your previous application.

They have a new form for renewals... it is a quick short form. Make sure you get it in before you expire... WAAAAAY easier... No guarantor req'd, nothing! One sheet, you fill out, sign... go in and process in 10 mins... you can get a rush on it for an extra $30. They say that you need proof of travel for it to be expidited (like a plane ticket etc...), not true.... you can either say that you are driving across boarder to visit a very sick relative, or that you are due at your immigration lawyers office within a week and you must have your new passport in hand (that's what I said...which was true) but all they make you do is write on a blank piece of paper your reason for expediting and that you are driving across the boarder....

You can have a new passport within 5 days

I dropped mine off last Tuesday and just picked it up plus if you drop off first thing in the morn, the office is quiet...

Here is the link to download the new form:

http://www.ppt.gc.ca/cdn/ren.aspx

Good luck

In country renewals however are not available to those of us who are already legal permanent residents in the US. It has to be done by mail, with a completely different application form.

Edited March 3, 2009 by Udella&Wiz

[Udella&Wiz 325]

OMG - have a few other questions to sort out

i) how early can I apply for a renewal? 6 months before the original's expiry date?

ii) how can I, or can i? travel back home whilest I've sent the old one away and am waiting for the new one back ? I see potential problems if something were to happen to a family member. Hopefully it wouldn't be more then a month without one or would it be???

iii) This all happens around the time that my 2 yr GC expires - the current passport has all the stamps and stuff stapled in it - I can picture a time where my 2 yr GC expires and I'm adjusting status and on top of that I'm waiting on the enw passport.......will I get the old passport back - don't I need all the important history of stuff in it?

PHEW!

[BermyCat 1]

Where do you get Canadian passport photos in the US? Can you just go to a pharmacy like for US passort photos or do you have to go to a photographer?

~ Catherine

[Cassie 8]

Thanks for the info and encouragement. I will get going on it, I am just not motivated at all to do paperwork right now, I guess it's because I touch paper all day, it's the last thing I want to do when I come home!

Kathryn, if you read this, did you get your old passport back, or should I make a copy of it for filing for citizenship purposes before sending it in?

[Carlawarla 1]

OMG - have a few other questions to sort out

i) how early can I apply for a renewal? 6 months before the original's expiry date?

ii) how can I, or can i? travel back home whilest I've sent the old one away and am waiting for the new one back ? I see potential problems if something were to happen to a family member. Hopefully it wouldn't be more then a month without one or would it be???

iii) This all happens around the time that my 2 yr GC expires - the current passport has all the stamps and stuff stapled in it - I can picture a time where my 2 yr GC expires and I'm adjusting status and on top of that I'm waiting on the enw passport.......will I get the old passport back - don't I need all the important history of stuff in it?

PHEW!

I read on the site that you can't apply too far ahead, I'd say 3 months.

Your old one is away, and you won't be able to travel while it's away. Yes, there could be problems if an emergency came up. If that happened, you could call the Consulate in the US and ask what you should do. They may be able to give you a letter or something. If at all possible, on the application, pay for some type of expedited process if you can. I haven't looked to see if you can do that, but if you can, that might be the way to go.

There is a checkbox asking if you want the old passport back. Make sure you check that. I think it will have a hole or something punched through it making it unusable. You have your GC, all that's in your passport will be the actual visa which has expired. Maybe look at your timelines, and even explain, if you want to renew it (actually you don't renew it, you get a new one) in a letter that you're applying early because you need it back for adjusting your status in the US or something. I'd say the only thing you might need it for at the removal of conditions stage is IF you had an interview, IF you had an emergency before you got your 10 year GC in the mail and you wanted to go back to Canada, and you wanted some type of stamp on your passport. However, note that when you apply for your 10 year GC, you get a letter extending your GC for 1 year while the application is being processed.

Where do you get Canadian passport photos in the US? Can you just go to a pharmacy like for US passort photos or do you have to go to a photographer?

~ Catherine

I'd copy the page where it shows the dimensions and the posing of the applicant for Canadian standards and bring that to wherever you get your pictures done. I frankly wouldn't trust Walgreens or Walmart to pay much attention to that, I'd rather bring it to a photographer. However maybe Walgreens or Walmart (just as an example) has more experience in doing them with other country standards, therefore they might be more flexible in doing them. I think the main thing between the two is the actual size of the picture. So, you could even take a US passport picture and cut it to the Canadian specifications.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Thanks Carla! Now that I've had my 'moment'...your answers make me feel better. I am very stressed about having no passport and there being some kind of emergency back home - my dad has had some health scares recently. That and I really hope they don't take forever since I wanted to get back home next Christmas and that's exactly when it expires.

Be sure to keep us all updated when you do your's theis summer