Getting a Passport

[DeadPoolX 9]

Okay, well...I'm an American citizen and I have a U.S. passport. My fiancee, a Canadian citizen, HAD a passport, but seeing as Canadian passports only last for five years, hers has expired and since they can't be renewed, she needs to apply for a new one. So far, everything seems simple, right? It's not.

My fiancee doesn't have a guarantor that she's known within her city for at least two years. I do know, however, that there's a form she could fill out called a PPTC 132 "Statutory Declaration in Lieu of Guarantor." The problem is that I've read that if someone files the PPTC 132, it may delay processing, and it can take a LOT longer to get your passport. I've heard all sorts of wild claims--anything from an extra week or two to a couple of months!

My fiancee is coming down to the U.S. on December 30, 2006. So she needs a passport before then. It's already October. I know in the U.S., they say to allow at LEAST six weeks for processing (unless you go the expedited route, which costs an "arm and a leg") and that doesn't even include shipping time! I've read on Passport Canada's website that the normal processing time to receive a passport is 10 working days. But that probably assumes you have a guarantor, not a PPTC 132.

So what I'd like to know is...approximately how long is my fiancee looking at waiting to get her passport (with filing a PPTC 132), since she'll definitely need it to enter the United States.

[Reba 2]

Canadians are not required to have a passport to travel to the US, she'll just need a birth certificate and photo ID of some sort, like driver's license.

Why doesn't she have a guarantor? She can send it to anybody whose on the list whose known her for 2 years or more, it doesn't necessarily need to be someone in the town where she currently lives.

If she goes directly to the passport office to turn in the application, it'll be faster than if she mails it to them. Usually the 10 business days for drop offs (well, sit and wait for 4 hours and then drop off ) or a month or 2 for mail.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Thanks for replying!

Canadians are not required to have a passport to travel to the US, she'll just need a birth certificate and photo ID of some sort, like driver's license.

Well, I know that currently neither U.S. nor Canadian citizens need passports to enter each other's countries. However, I've read that starting December 31, 2006, BOTH U.S. and Canadian citizens will be required to show a passport to travel between the United States and Canada. Is that now incorrect? If it is, that'd be great.

Why doesn't she have a guarantor? She can send it to anybody whose on the list whose known her for 2 years or more, it doesn't necessarily need to be someone in the town where she currently lives.

I think my fiancee mentioned that she might have a relative (I think her brother-in-law's sister) who's an attorney. Lawyers are on the list. She'd pretty much be the only possibility, but there's a good chance she may have moved out of Canada. In that case, my fiancee would still have to file the PPTC 132.

If she goes directly to the passport office to turn in the application, it'll be faster than if she mails it to them. Usually the 10 business days for drop offs (well, sit and wait for 4 hours and then drop off ) or a month or 2 for mail.

Well, we certainly can't wait a month or two for mail...it'd have to be by drop-off. I just want to know how anyone who works normal business hours can make it to a Passport Canada office between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:15 PM, Monday to Friday. My fiancee would have to practically take a day off from work to deliver this by hand, especially if she'd need to sit and wait three-to-four hours.

Oh well. I guess I'd better break the news to her.

Edited October 6, 2006 by DeadPoolX

[neiks 19]

If you are travelling via a land border crossing you do NOT need a passport by Dec 31, 2006. I believe the scheduled implimication for land border crossing is Dec 31, 2007. (If that doesn't get changed too)

I believe that passport travel to US via air was scheduled for Dec 31, 2006 but I think that it got pushed back as well.

[bebop + rocksteady 0]

From the U.S. Department of State website:

* January 8, 2007 - Requirement applied to all air and sea travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.

* January 1, 2008 - Requirement extended to all land border crossings as well as air and sea travel.

Here is a link to the new travel documentation requirements.

Cass (bebop the great)

[DeadPoolX 9]

Okay, thanks for the timeline correction.

My fiancee is heading back to Canada on January 7, 2007. According to the U.S. Department of State, that's one day before the passport requirement is implimented. So technically, she doesn't even NEED a passport.

Of course...it still might be better to have a passport. Getting across the border is probably easier with a passport than without one. It'd also be good to have so she has a record of her trip--I've read here on VJ that passport stamps are good to have and all. So yeah, she'll probably get a passport, just because it'd be the best thing to do all around. But I guess if she doesn't have one, it won't cancel her trip.

[bebop + rocksteady 0]

That is EXACTLY the reason why I am getting one. We've already sent in our petition, but it'll be nice to document all the trips between NOA1 and interview date with my passport.

Plus, I'm sick of everytime I go through customs the CBP officer being like "You do know you won't be able to use your birth certificate for much longer?"

Cass (bebop the great)

It'd also be good to have so she has a record of her trip--I've read here on VJ that passport stamps are good to have and all.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Marginally less difficult for me, as I've never been able to use my BC in the first place (as I was born in India).

[Kathryn41 3,205]

First, from the Canadian Minister of Public Safety:

"September 30, 2006 — “The Government of Canada notes that United States Congress has passed the Homeland Security Appropriations Act. This legislation provides for an extension for those travelling by land and sea on the deadline for the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).

The extension will delay implementation up until June 1, 2009, or until three months after the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security have jointly certified that specific security measures for travel documents have been established.

The United States WHTI will require all travellers, including Canadians, to present a passport or another accepted secure document when entering the United States."

2nd, it is the US government who is requiring passports from Canadians and Americans to enter the US NOT the Canadian government requiring passports from Canadians and American citizens. There is no legislation pending or in the works to require it. As a Canadian all she needs is her proof of citizenship - her birth certificate - and she will be allowed back into Canada.

3rd, It does not slow down the processing of a passport to have a "in lieu of Guarantor" form used instead of a Guarantor. When I was still in Canada I worked for an MP and was a Commissioner of Oaths so often completed the 'PPTC 134 form verifying the identity of the person applying for a passport. None of the applications were unduly slowed down because they didn't have a personal guarantor. If it isn't acceptable for the government they wouldn't use it.

4th, the fastest way to obtain a passport is definitely to submit the application and the various supporting documentation in person. That way, if there is a problem with the photographs (the most common reason for an application to be delayed) you know right away and have a chance to correct them rather than waiting for the package to be returned to you via mail. Also, you don't have to leave the original birth certificfate with them - they can review it and return it to you at that time. Yes, it takes generally a week to 10 days to receive the passport back if you drop off the application in person. Don't make the mistake of confusing US processing times for American passports with what is done in Canada. A Canadian passport can be expedited if you have a need and pay for it in 24 hours.

5th, some - but not all - MPs offices accept passport applications and assist their constituents in obtaining their passport. It isn't necessarily faster but some people feel more secure applying that way. In either case, an MP's office can investigate any passports that have not been returned within the expected delivery time.

and finally, She is going to need a passport anyway in order to obtain her visa. Yes, it may well be necessary to take a day off of work and go in person if she wishes the benefit of receiving it as quickly as possible. I am sure she knew of this trip coming up for a while now and she could have applied for her passport earlier than this if she was worried. It will also be necessary for her to take a day or two off of work to attend her interview. She has to decide if having her passport is a priority instead of grumbling about all of the nuisance and potential problems. Canada and the US are foreign countries to each other. We have been very fortunate to have had such a harmonious relationship to date that has allowed us to cross each other's borders so freely - but don't ever forget - they are both separate and sovereign countries who have full right to set the rules about who and how their borders are maintained. It may be a nuisance but remember, if you travelled anywhere else in the world you would unquestionably need a passport.

[Reba 2]

of all the times I travelled to the US and showed my passport, it was never stamped. Except when I got my L1B visa, and then my K3 visa. That's it. Its not a normal happening for Canadian passports to be stamped on entry.

My Uncle was my guarantor last time I got a new passport, he's a lawyer. The time before that, the HR Manager at the company I worked for was the guarantor. He was a certified accountant of some sort. I find it difficult to understand how someone over the age of 2, who hasn't been living in a cabbage patch, knows absolutely no one who could be a guarantor. Its a big country, I'm sure there's got to be someone! It doesn't need to be a personal relationship, basically they just have to know you for 2 years and can recognize you as who you say you are.