Passports are important documents issued to interested civilians by their native governments. They consist of official photographs of the civilians, their date of birth and full name and allow their holders to safely travel internationally. Essentially, the documents entitle travelers to re-enter their country of origin and are fairly difficult to obtain. For these reasons and more, it is extremely important to begin the process to replace a urgent lost United States passport as quickly as possible.
Just as it would be losing a wallet or purse, misplacing an expedited new US passport can be a very scary and vulnerable experience. Once you notice it is missing, give yourself half an hour or so to actively search for it. Reporting it missing means that it will be permanently invalidated by the Department of State so it’s crucial to first make sure that it just isn’t lying behind a nightstand or tucked away in a suitcase.
If the passport can’t be located, you should quickly obtain an official form called a DS-64 to report it stolen or misplaced. Once the papers have been properly filed, the missing document will be made invalid by the State. If it’s eventually recovered or located, the document won’t be able to be used for any type of travel and should be quickly and properly destroyed.
The DS form must be properly filled out and then submitted to your State Department or local embassy. If you want, you can mail the forms to them but make sure and do it with certified mail so you will know when the package arrives at its destination. This will insure that you know when to begin the next step in the long process.
Look for the official website of the Department of State and find a location near you that accepts and processes passport applications. In most cases, this will simply be your neighborhood’s local post office. Once the DS-64 form you sent in has been processed and filed away, you should visit the location and begin the long process of applying for your new passport.
The form that is needed for this part is known as the DS-11 and should be carefully filled out with the proper information. The remainder of the process will be familiar to you as you have already experienced it once before.
If travel documents are stolen or lost during an overseas trip, things could be slightly trickier for you because it isn’t possible to enter your country of origin again without proper identifications. It is vital that you locate an embassy for the United States and visit it right away. A Representative there will help you and walk you through the quest of getting home.
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