Expedited Lost Or Stolen Passport Replacement Can Be Used In An Emergency
Of all of the bad things that can happen abroad, losing a passport to theft or carelessness has to be one of the most frustrating. Losing a passport can cut aspects of a trip short and possibly leave a person stranded in a foreign land. Luckily, there are options to replace a lost passport. In dire situations, it is even possible to apply for an expedited lost or stolen U.S. passport replacement.
If a passport is lost or stolen, how the situation is handled depends on where the traveler is. If the person is still on U.S. soil, everything can be handled rather quickly and without great expense. If the traveler has already gone abroad, everything changes, but it can still be taken care of. As long as you know what to do, there is no need to panic.
From the moment the passport is discovered to be missing, it is important that the passport holder jumps right into action. A phone call to the State Department should be the first move to make them aware the passport has indeed been lost or stolen. They can then do what they have to on their end to make sure that it is not used for illegal purposes.
In order to get a hold of the State Department, the passport holder must call their toll free number (877-487-2778) and report what happened. After they have done that, they can go to the website and download the DS-64 form. This is the form that must be filled out in order to get a replacement passport.
Once the DS-64 form is completed, the standard new passport application will also have to be filled out again. The same protocol applies to getting a stolen passport replacement at this point that applies to a new passport, so the whole process should be fairly familiar to anyone that has to do this. In essence, it is just the need to fill out the additional form.
Realizing that a passport can be lost or stolen at an inopportune time, there are passport expediting services that can be used to make everything happen quicker. Just like the expedited services for a new passport, lost or stolen service cost $60 to have it back in about three weeks. If that does not make things better, there are quicker services that are available for a higher fee.
If the person is already abroad, the process changes just a bit. The citizen will have to go the local US Embassy or Consulate and let them know what happened. If they have copies of all of their documents, they should bring them with them. At this point, the representative will let them know what has to happen and guide them through the process.
While replacement of a passport can get expensive, sometimes there is no choice but to get an expedited lost U S passport replacement. You can find a American passport expediting service that can help in a pinch. When the alternative is missing out on a trip or getting stuck in a foreign country for an extended stay, what real choice is there? Just remember to keep up to date on travel laws and always have copies of important documents in case this situation becomes a reality.
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