User Panel
Posted: 12/19/2014 10:44:35 AM EDT
should i get them for the wife and i?
cost not counting birth certificate copies etc is around 330.00 for both if us. we have ZERO desire to travel outside the country but i am wondering if it might not be good to have "just in case" considering the lead time in 4-6 weeks. anyone else that never travels have one? why? |
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Got one for my wife and son, just in case. Took a vacation to the Bahamas on a deal that we wouldn't have been able to had she not already had it.
As for other needs, the big one here in TN is renewing your CCW. Its proof of citizenship. I also use it routinely for airplane travel. The E mahines recognize those where they don't licenses for calling up your flight plans. |
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A few things to consider:
Do you have kids? If they go somewhere for French or Spanish club like Canada, it would be good to have. Kid gets sick and you have to go get them type of thing. TSA seems to like them as an ID. I use mine even domestically instead of my license and they hardly even glance at it after the UV light check. It is an accepted third form of proof of citizenship for employment. If you have to change jobs its a requirement to prove (or file different green card forms) your citizenship. Ever going to take a cruise? Some require it since they stop at various Caribbean islands. Even if you are not going to get off you still need it (sometimes) to get back into the US. Yes, it can take awhile to get. You can get one faster (week or two) in an emergency but it can cost a lot more. ETA: what are you going to do when you spin over to Tx to see Ed Sr. and the boys and the JBT BP guys pull you over and say "Show me your PAPERS!" After you do the whole "Am I being detained?" Blah, blah, blah you can use it to be on your way. |
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If you get them, also get the Passport Card for a few bucks more. Order your passport a ways out from when you will actually need them. They can take some time, and getting one fast-tracked can be doable, but expensive.
IMO, I think they are a good thing to have. I've had one since 1978. I was scheduled to work on the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, but our president Jimmy Carter canceled them. Before that, when we went to Canada, it was just a "Hey, I live over here..." and they'd wave you through. |
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I say go for it. If/when you really need it, the cost and time delay will be a pain. LIke any other prep, get it in place before trouble hits.
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I would. Got mine this year. It came in handy as I went out of the country.
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+1 on using them for flying. Also, if you do need it last minute, good luck getting it in a short timeframe without political influence or a lot of money or both. Once you have a passport never let it expire since you then have to go through everything all over again whereas it is easier if you just renew.
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It's a big, exciting, fascinating world and you're missing it.
Get passports, go see some shit. |
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They do have an expedited process. My FIL actually got his in two weeks, decided last minute to go on vacation with the family. It was a close call. Literally got it about two hours before leaving for the airport. We had written him off .
Doc |
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I've had one in the past....many years ago. Though most of my international travel required no passport.
I don't have one now, and won't be getting one anytime soon. The wife and oldest have one. I've traveled enough that I don't care too anymore. Been to all but 4 states (maybe 5), 19 countries, 4 continents....I'm a home body these days. If I can't drive there, I'm not going. Hell, I haven't left Michigan but twice since mid 2012. And there are no plans for me to do so... Just a counter point. If ya need/want one and plan to travel or may in the future. Rock on and get one. |
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Price must have gone up ? I recall around $75ea last I bought one I think 5-6 yrs.
I have only used mine maybe 4-5 times in 5-6 years. 1 trip to Philippines and a yearly fishing trip to Canada. Considering they are good for I think 7-8 years, why not get one ? You just may end up somewhere near the border on a vacation or trip and want to 'sneak across' going the other way. Maybe you win a trip in a contest ? Get invited to a wedding on a crusie ship ? I went my entire adult life without one until around 2008 I think. |
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It is another form of id and what I have right now is from my state.
I have it in the budget next year to get a passport and whatever that little card is also. That is a form of id from the federal government. I don't have any interest in cruises or leaving this country, lots to see in this country and when I take a vacation I usually just go ride trails around where I live and stay local. I was not impressed with my states new plastic id either. |
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they say 4-6 weeks but usually it is like 2 weeks. Just a FYI
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Quoted:
should i get them for the wife and i? cost not counting birth certificate copies etc is around 330.00 for both if us. we have ZERO desire to travel outside the country but i am wondering if it might not be good to have "just in case" considering the lead time in 4-6 weeks. anyone else that never travels have one? why? View Quote I think that only ~10% of US citizens have a passport at any given time. My dad was USAF and we went and lived in Cambridge, England for a couple of years and I've had one since I was a 2 year old. $330 sounds a bit high for two people, if you're not in a hurry. What's up with that? Now you need a passport for freakin' Canada and to get your head chopped off in Mexico, so welcome to the party! Chris |
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Is it too cliche to say you never know when you might need it?
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I just checked and it is $165 for both passport and card with no rush, or special handling for 1 adult
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I travel a lot, both domestic and international. Get it even if you never plan to leave the U.S. There are many pros for having one. Keep in mind we have some reciprocity with other countries, if for some crazy reason a riot breaks out where you happen to be (another state on vacation perhaps) and you are close to a Japanese embassy, you can get in quickly for some safety. Of course that entails you carrying your passport with you.
Get the "book" which has additional pages, it costs the same. I would not waste the money on the card, it's more convenient but hardly anyone accepts that as a valid form of ID. In the U.S. a valid drivers license does more good. From an international standpoint, a passport is your primary form of ID. |
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Quoted:
I travel a lot, both domestic and international. Get it even if you never plan to leave the U.S. There are many pros for having one. Keep in mind we have some reciprocity with other countries, if for some crazy reason a riot breaks out where you happen to be (another state on vacation perhaps) and you are close to a Japanese embassy, you can get in quickly for some safety. Of course that entails you carrying your passport with you. Get the "book" which has additional pages, it costs the same. I would not waste the money on the card, it's more convenient but hardly anyone accepts that as a valid form of ID. In the U.S. a valid drivers license does more good. From an international standpoint, a passport is your primary form of ID. View Quote that is an interesting thought |
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The card is only good for Canada and Mexico and then only if you are driving, walking or riding bike. It can't be used for air entry. I got it because I want to do the RIDE THE DIVIDE mountain bike route. I didn't want to carry the book for that. It may be good for someone who lives close to the Mexican or Canadian border and will be crossing a lot. I would say that most don't need it.
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Damn, I thought I was the only one without a passport. View Quote Nope. I've never had one either. And I've never been closer than two states away from our northern and southern borders and have never seen an ocean. I did make it to Savannah in August and saw a small container ship in the river and the big cranes in the harbor but never made it to to ocean it's self. |
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I until a few years ago all we needed to get into the USA was a drivers license... These days it's a passport or GTFO. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Now you need a passport for freakin' Canada and to get your head chopped off in Mexico, so welcome to the party! Chris I until a few years ago all we needed to get into the USA was a drivers license... These days it's a passport or GTFO. In '05, I went to the HiFi show in Montreal and my PP was expired, but people said that all I needed was a DL. Well, I got on the plane fine, I cleared customs just fine and upon my return, the US Customs drone stopped me and told me I was SOL. I looked at him and said here's my DL, my Gold Card, my library card and anything else I had in my wallet and he still balked. I even had my CCW permit on me and showed him that! I remember him asking me if I wanted HIM to just let anybody into the USA and I said no, but why don't you start profiling guys with black hair, dark skin and brown eyes instead of white guys with blue eyes and brown hair. He wasn't amused and proceeded to ask me three questions while his face was buried in his computer screen, like what was the last movie I saw and when, where did I eat last, benign things like that, as if all that info was on his screen. He finally got tired of me and let me board the flight. My PP has been kept up to day since then, lol. Chris |
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i have been around it in the army. no real desire to do it again. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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It's a big, exciting, fascinating world and you're missing it. Get passports, go see some shit. i have been around it in the army. no real desire to do it again. The way I saw the world in the Marines and the way I see it now are quite different. You won't have to sleep in wet holes or eat out of green cans this time. |
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thats kinda my feeling but 300.00 i am thinking my be better spent in other areas for the most part. the odds of me just travelling and needing it are zero. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Is it too cliche to say you never know when you might need it? thats kinda my feeling but 300.00 i am thinking my be better spent in other areas for the most part. the odds of me just travelling and needing it are zero. Is there any way at all you could call it a business expense and therefore tax deductible? Might you not have a potential reason to visit even Canada or Mexico? That reduces the cost by a third. Worst case, the IRS questions the deduction and you pay the tax. |
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Is there any way at all you could call it a business expense and therefore tax deductible? Might you not have a potential reason to visit even Canada or Mexico? That reduces the cost by a third. Worst case, the IRS questions the deduction and hauls your ass in and audits your last 3 years taxes, makes life miserable,and you pay a bunch more tax. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Is it too cliche to say you never know when you might need it? thats kinda my feeling but 300.00 i am thinking my be better spent in other areas for the most part. the odds of me just travelling and needing it are zero. Is there any way at all you could call it a business expense and therefore tax deductible? Might you not have a potential reason to visit even Canada or Mexico? That reduces the cost by a third. Worst case, the IRS questions the deduction and hauls your ass in and audits your last 3 years taxes, makes life miserable,and you pay a bunch more tax. Fixed it for you. Tom |
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Go down to your county clerks office.
You should be able to have them do it a little cheaper then that. Mine was $75 and they did the pic for me. Of course this is in rural Georgia about 5 years ago. And like others have said... Go travel. Lots of very cool places that are cheap to go. Hop on a plane be back in a week. (Or even a weekend) |
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We have them in our family.
Like you, we had no specific plans to travel outside the US. Like others in this thread have said, there are other uses besides international travel to have them. And, given the lead-time - having them gives you options if something comes up. It's only money, and you can't take it with you.... |
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The wife and I both have passports and CBP approved Global Entry.
I work internationally for work and occasionally she comes to visit me. The Global Entry allows me to bypass the long lines of huddled masses reinterring the country and is the best 100 dollars I have ever spent. I recommend always having the appropriate documentation to travel internationally. |
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Quoted: i have been around it in the army. no real desire to do it again. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: It's a big, exciting, fascinating world and you're missing it. Get passports, go see some shit. i have been around it in the army. no real desire to do it again. Its a lot more fun when you're in charge of yourself.
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Just want to add, all this quick speed it up stuff only works on countries, mostly Europe, where you don't a Visa. If you have to apply for a Visa, you need your passport first so that time is in series, added on, not at the same time. The Visa application will ask you for your passport number and often a copy of your passport.
In regards to traveling, there's deals to be had and the best deals are short term notice. Last week I went from here to San Diego, LA to San Fran, and San Fran to home, $450. This stuff is coming down with fuel prices. Vacation packages are often discounted a lot just a couple weeks before the time. I have or known folks to take cruises and/or all inclusive resort trips, $250 a day. "Hey lets go lay on a beach for a weekend on a tropical island and drink Foo Foo drinks for $500 each" is not anything to frown at in the middle of a cold ass winter. Combine hotel discounts with using credit card points/miles for plane fare and man, trips like that become like $250 for both of you a weekend. Now keep in mind, I travel for a living which is why I own a boat and a tour motorcycle. Getting on a plane on my time off is about the last thing I want to do but some of these deals call your name man. The best deals are next week and you have to have a passport. Here's my rule of thumb. Anything 8.5 hours drive, I drive. Anything over that, I fly. Those of us still working, its a good rule of thumb as we are not wasting our off time traveling but where we want to go. That being said, most of us 8.5 hours there's a lot to see but then there's a whole world farther than that. Some of it, you don't want to see. Hell, most of it. Some though, not bad if the price is right. Tj |
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Yes, get passports. Pass on the passport cards. They are only good for cruises.
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If you don't get a passport, you won't be able to crash the party for Oh Bummer in Havana in 2015!
Seriously though, there are several places close but outside the US that you might have an opportunity to travel to cheaply on the spur of the moment... Bermuda, Bahamas, Canada, Mexico, and soon, maybe even Cuba! In addition, as mentioned above, they are good proof of citizenship. Useful to obtain a CWL, renew you state DL (in FL), etc. Passports are good for 10 years so you're talking like $33 per year - not terrible in the long view of things... Quoted:
Yes, get passports. Pass on the passport cards. They are only good for cruises. View Quote |
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I have one, but then again I need one if I want to go in to Canada or such. Take them with you to the carribean, Belize is awesome, travel.
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It's a form of ID that I've never seen questioned. Good as a backup to your DL for domestic travel if your wallet gets ripped off. Good for a cmp garand too.
I have one I use for work, which they paid for. If you're >= 16 yrs old they're good for 10 years, 15 and under for 5 years. Each of my kids get one after turning 16 if they haven't needed it before then. I think it's worth having.
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Go down to your county clerks office. You should be able to have them do it a little cheaper then that. Mine was $75 and they did the pic for me. Of course this is in rural Georgia about 50 years ago. And like others have said... Go travel. Lots of very cool places that are cheap to go. Hop on a plane be back in a week. (Or even a weekend) View Quote fixed it for you. the ONLY place to get a passport is through the post office and the costs are set in stone. all they do is file the paperwork also and then over night it to the state dept who then issues the passports. in that cost, you will also have to add the cost of the express mail envelope and the 2 money orders (1 for each PP) ~ another $20 or so. that being said, they are good to have as they are very difficult to counterfeit (nothing is impossible) and most officers accept them with few questions asked. as far as the card goes, most carribean countries accept the card as well. if your going to cruise its a good thing to have -vs- carrying your PP with you all the time. this summer i took 3 long cruises to visited about 12 different islands and had no problems with the PP card. i used the main PP during embarkation and debarkation only and had no issues clearing customs. |
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Quoted: If you don't get a passport, you won't be able to crash the party for Oh Bummer in Havana in 2015! Seriously though, there are several places close but outside the US that you might have an opportunity to travel to cheaply on the spur of the moment... Bermuda, Bahamas, Canada, Mexico, and soon, maybe even Cuba! In addition, as mentioned above, they are good proof of citizenship. Useful to obtain a CWL, renew you state DL (in FL), etc. Passports are good for 10 years so you're talking like $33 per year - not terrible in the long view of things... The main use of passport cards is to get you back into the US when returning from Canada or Mexico by land (not by sea or by air - IIRC sea/air entry requires a "regular" passport). They also can be used as proof of citizenship like passport books. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: If you don't get a passport, you won't be able to crash the party for Oh Bummer in Havana in 2015! Seriously though, there are several places close but outside the US that you might have an opportunity to travel to cheaply on the spur of the moment... Bermuda, Bahamas, Canada, Mexico, and soon, maybe even Cuba! In addition, as mentioned above, they are good proof of citizenship. Useful to obtain a CWL, renew you state DL (in FL), etc. Passports are good for 10 years so you're talking like $33 per year - not terrible in the long view of things... Quoted: Yes, get passports. Pass on the passport cards. They are only good for cruises. Passport cards are acceptable for all reentry except air. Sea and land. |
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fixed it for you. the ONLY place to get a passport is through the post office and the costs are set in stone. all they do is file the paperwork also and then over night it to the state dept who then issues the passports. in that cost, you will also have to add the cost of the express mail envelope and the 2 money orders (1 for each PP) ~ another $20 or so. that being said, they are good to have as they are very difficult to counterfeit (nothing is impossible) and most officers accept them with few questions asked. as far as the card goes, most carribean countries accept the card as well. if your going to cruise its a good thing to have -vs- carrying your PP with you all the time. this summer i took 3 long cruises to visited about 12 different islands and had no problems with the PP card. i used the main PP during embarkation and debarkation only and had no issues clearing customs. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Go down to your county clerks office. You should be able to have them do it a little cheaper then that. Mine was $75 and they did the pic for me. Of course this is in rural Georgia about 50 years ago. And like others have said... Go travel. Lots of very cool places that are cheap to go. Hop on a plane be back in a week. (Or even a weekend) fixed it for you. the ONLY place to get a passport is through the post office and the costs are set in stone. all they do is file the paperwork also and then over night it to the state dept who then issues the passports. in that cost, you will also have to add the cost of the express mail envelope and the 2 money orders (1 for each PP) ~ another $20 or so. that being said, they are good to have as they are very difficult to counterfeit (nothing is impossible) and most officers accept them with few questions asked. as far as the card goes, most carribean countries accept the card as well. if your going to cruise its a good thing to have -vs- carrying your PP with you all the time. this summer i took 3 long cruises to visited about 12 different islands and had no problems with the PP card. i used the main PP during embarkation and debarkation only and had no issues clearing customs. Here is the link.... It does appear the fees have increased but the clerks office clearly will still handle the process. http://www.coweta.ga.us/Index.aspx?page=293 |
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It's a form of ID that I've never seen questioned. Good as a backup to your DL for domestic travel if your wallet gets ripped off. Good for a cmp garand too. I have one I use for work, which they paid for. If you're >= 16 yrs old they're good for 10 years, 15 and under for 5 years. Each of my kids get one after turning 16 if they haven't needed it before then. I think it's worth having. View Quote This. Passport is the Gold Standard for ID. Get 'em - they're good for 10 years.. |
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If you'd happen to lose your wallet you'll be VERY thankful of having a passport at home in the safe. Also a nice touch when applying for a job or something like that, a lot more professional to have a passport than have to show a birth certificate.
I use the card for ID at the airport for TSA, seems to work well. |
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I don't have a passport, never have, then again I've never been on a airplane either. Seriously.
Sure I'd like to travel around the world once, just to see some shit, but that shit is expensive. |
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If I could only have three items for survival: Cash, passport, gun. Pretty much in that order.
FerFAL |
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if you are just plain not leaving the Continental USA, there is no real reason to have one. We travel from time to time, and find having a current Passport convenient.
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You can get a second passport with the right reasons, such as travel to Israel and Islamic countries. Nice to have a backup in case some power hungry gate keeper wants to confiscate your passport. Don't travel to a Muslim country with an Israeli entrance and exit stamp on your passport. They are not amused.
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You can get a second passport with the right reasons, such as travel to Israel and Islamic countries. Nice to have a backup in case some power hungry gate keeper wants to confiscate your passport. Don't travel to a Muslim country with an Israeli entrance and exit stamp on your passport. They are not amused. View Quote Israel (supposedly) used to give you a loose page you could put in with their stamps, so you could remove it if/when you traveled to a muslim country. They not do that anymore? |
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