PASSPORT RENEWAL

[BlueRain77 0]

I sent my application in to Washington fedex on march 7th. They processed it on March 13th, charged my account $197 on March 14, delivered a brand new passport on the 15th.

Did you go in or send it in? Was it expedited or was that regular?

I need my husband's passport renewed soon as possible as he has to go back to see his dad who is sick.

[nickandkayte 0]

So let me double check,

I am sending in:

My old passport, marriage cert, Two UK sized photos, cheque for $217? Correct?

Then send it to:

The UK Passport Service for the Americas and Caribbean

British Embassy

19 Observatory Circle, NW

Washington, DC 20008

Yes?

Just want to make sure so I don't mess this up.

Oh and for my UK driving license change of name I need to include my marriage cert, Old license, new photos, counterpart license correct? (Sending it to my folks in the UK to mail it from the UK)

I am also getting my name changed by deed-poll (Is this necessary though? ) in the UK so I can get the deed poll sent to my folks house, they can put it in the envelope with my stuff and mail it to the DVLA.

Any feedback would be appreciated!

Edited July 25, 2010 by nickandkayte

[effects69 2]

So let me double check,

I am sending in:

My old passport, marriage cert, Two UK sized photos, cheque for $217? Correct?

Then send it to:

The UK Passport Service for the Americas and Caribbean

British Embassy

19 Observatory Circle, NW

Washington, DC 20008

Yes?

Just want to make sure so I don't mess this up.

Oh and for my UK driving license change of name I need to include my marriage cert, Old license, new photos, counterpart license correct? (Sending it to my folks in the UK to mail it from the UK)

I am also getting my name changed by deed-poll (Is this necessary though? ) in the UK so I can get the deed poll sent to my folks house, they can put it in the envelope with my stuff and mail it to the DVLA.

Any feedback would be appreciated!

Not sure about marriage cert? I didn't send one in. Anyway. I got my new passport in the post today I just sent in teh form, old passport and 2 UK passport sized pictures. I also got my old passport back with my new one.

[BlueRain77 0]

One more question: Does Everyone have to do the Countersignatory at the end of the passport application or is it just for first time appliers? My husband is obviously just renewing. Thanks!

[Welshcookie 17]

Hi! I renewed my passport without any countersignature, they do advise it if you look very different from the photo in the passport....I do look very different than I did 10 years ago but I think that maybe visa photo that was also in my passport may have overcome that I don't know, but I had no problems.

[fozzie 41]

It sounds expensive but the fees have gone up in the uk too. I was thinking about just getting it done in the UK next time I visit but then I realized its almost as expensive.

To renew an adult ten-year 32-page passport costs £77.50 for standard service, £112.50 for the one-week Fast Track Service and £129.50 for the one-day Premium service.

[hudons 0]

This was really helpful, thanks! I hadn't seen that website before, the one I had looked at made the whole process seem awfully overwhelming.

I'm also really pleased to hear that it is such a fast process, or at least it can be.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (one of the best things about living in the US and my new favorite holiday!)

[Hannah+Vito 0]

Ok so got a new dumb question. Seen as they no longer print your address in the passport since they went to the chip thingy. If I send my passport of now to update address and name. And then next year we move. Do I really have to spend another 217 or whatever it is and get a whole new passport again. If I just want to re update my address?

[FrostyMist 1]

I'm planning on travelling back to England in June in order to visit my family. I'd like to get my name in my UK passport changed to my married name, but the process looks a little daunting.

So, I have a couple of questions.

Firstly, I went through AOS from a K1 visa in July, and was approved for my green card in October. However, I was fortunate enough not to be called for an interview, which means that my current UK passport still has my I94 card and K1 visa in it.

Is it still okay to apply for a UK passport in my new name? I know I have to send off my old passport with my name change application. Will I need the I94 card and K1 visa for immigration purposes later? I can't really do much about the visa, because it's pretty firmly stuck in the passport. But should I remove my I94 card?

Next, on to the actual application process itself,

I believe that I need to complete the C1 form. Is this correct?

Dumb question, but when completing the form, my application would be classed as a "renewal" right?

Does anyone have any advise about getting a countersignature? I don't know anyone here that would be suitable. Do I even need to get my form and photographs countersigned?

What about passport photographs? Any advise where I can get some UK sized passport pictures from? I'd prefer not to print them off myself because my printer doesn't produce very good quality images.

Edited January 24, 2011 by FrostyMist

[BlueRain77 0]

Well we sent off my husbands renewal last week I believe. We lost his old passport and it needed renewal. Luckily I at least had a copy of the main page and we had it countersigned (both the passport copy and the pictures and the C1)...errr by my dad who is a business owner (professional). We are hoping that the non blood related thing would work, even if it is by marriage. We didn't know anyone long enough that was a "professional". My husband isn't very social. Crossing our fingers. We are supposed to be going to Canada on August 2...and he is also supposedly supposed to bring his passport with him to his Citizenship interview on July 26...hopefully, if we get it in time, they won't do anything to it...

[BlueRain77 0]

@frostymist - the only reason why we had to was because we lost his passport & had to report it lost at the same time. Most people on here have reported that if you are renewing and everything is straigh forward then there is no need for a countersig. For marriage, sending in your birth cert & marriage cert showing the name change I *think* counts as straight forward (thats all I needed for my us passport). The photos we sent were just normal US grade ones which I think are ok (although we haven't heard anything yet). You can get them done anywhere from Walgreens to Kinkos, whereever they advertise passport photos. I like Kinkos the best as you Can request that they are a differnt size I believe (the one near us asked). The US is 2x2 and the Uk is only slightly smaller I believe...

Hopefully someone more knowledgable than I will correct anything wrong... Good luck!

[FrostyMist 1]

I thought I'd just post a quick update to this topic.

I got my passport renewed with no problems a few months back.

I didn't need a countersignature. I just sent in all the documentation and it came through with no problems. I did have a problem finding anywhere that was able to do photographs to the correct size, and although many places offered to cut them down to size for me, I was worried this could cause a problem. In the end, I took the photographs myself and had them done by passpic.com . I was worried this might cause a problem, but it wasn't an issue at all.

I got my passport (now in my new name) about 4 - 6 weeks after first sending it off, so time was very quick.

I just got back from a trip back to see my family in England, and there wasn't an issue at all. Everything worked out great and I was very pleased.

[BlueRain77 0]

How long did it take for you to get back your passport? My husband sent his off at least 6 weeks back and still nothing. We even put Aug 2 as a travel date (he couldn't travel in the long run anyway due to work). Did anyone receive and notice beforehand. I can't remember if there was a section requesting email. We also need to notify them that we Found the lost passport. A few days ago my husband had a huge cleanout of his office and found it in a bum bag (fannypack for us american born) which he doesn't ever remember using...very strange.

[FrostyMist 1]

BlueRain77, I can't remember exactly how long it took to get my passport back. Between about 6 - 8 weeks, I think it was. If your husband's is taking longer to come back, maybe it's just a busier season now and they are backed up. It might also be because your husband's renewal application is not as straight forward as mine was. With you mentioning something about his previous passport being lost, this might have caused a delay. I hope they are able to process it in time.

I did not get any sort of confirmation that they were processing my passport. We sent everything by recorded delivery, so (thanks to USPS) I was able to confirm at least that they had received my renewal application. Aside from that though, there was nothing from the actual embassy until the passport arrived back here. We did keep an eye on credit card statement, because I figured that might at least give a hint as to whether they had begun processing or not. To be honest though, I seem to recall that it took a while for the payment to show up on our statement, and by the time it did, (keeping in mind though that I was not checking our credit card statement every day, since we had plenty of time to go before I needed it, and I didn't feel that the passport was taking overly long to get back to me) I already had my passport in hand.

Edited August 1, 2011 by FrostyMist

[Jacidy 0]

Hi everyone,

I have a question about getting issued a "new" passport. To TRY and make a long story short, I came to the States in 1985, on my mother's passport (as I was only five). Due to my father's work, we ended up staying here, however he never went through the necessary steps to continue our Visa, or have us become permanent residents, therefore, I'm now stuck in a bind trying to figure all of this out on my own (which has been great fun, let me tell you!!). Anyway, I'm now stuck. I recently married, my husband filed the paperwork for me, and I filed the I-485 and I-765. I received my notice to go to my biometrics on 7/20. I do NOT have a government issued ID because of all of this, so they would not allow me in to the exam. I have been told by a few people that I need to get my British passport. It seems that it's considered a new passport for me since I never held my own, and I was born before 1982, and a citizen, I shouldn't have an issue getting one. Because of the headache and the continuous let downs that I've been through in the past few months, I figured I would ask if anyone has been in a similar situation before I fork out more money to get the passport and then find it's not the resolution? Thanks to anyone with any information, it's greatly appreciated!!!!!!