Monday, October 17, 2011

A Stolen U S Online Passport Does Not Need To Spoil Your Vacation

By Ben Pate


Just the thought of a stolen passport can be a devastating. Whether from your home or while you are on vacation overseas, it does not have to impact your travel. Depending on where it was stolen, there are steps that you need to take to remedy this situation.

If Stolen During Travel

You are going to need to notify the U. S. Consulate or Embassy offices if the theft happened while you were traveling outside the country. You can find a list of those offices online by country and region of the world. It is a good idea to have their location and phone number with you if you are overseas,regardless of an occurrence that may not happen. If it does, you certainly don't need to be searching for a remedy.

Passport Status

You need to know the status of your passport to ensure it was valid when the theft occurred. This can be done online and you only need a minimum amount of information. You will need to provide your last name, including any suffixes or hyphens. You also need your date of birth and the last four numbers of your social security number.

Invalid Passports

If your passport isn't valid, it will still have to be reported but you will want to apply for another one. If that is the case, you can also check the status of your stolen U S online passport approximately five to seven days after application is made.

If Stolen In U.S.

Your stolen documents can be reported by using a toll free number designated by the U. S. State Department and once it has been reported, it will be nullified. They can be reached during regular weekday business hours with the exception of federal holidays. Automated information is available at any time. You can also email them and expect a response within 24 hours. You will need to reach them by telephone if it is an emergency travel situation.

Form DS-64

To simply report the theft, you will need Form DS-64. It can be mailed to the care of U. S. State Department offices in Washington, D. C. Once received,they will track the information you reported. Should your documentation later be recovered for you, mail it to the same office. You may request that your passport be released so that it is again valid, in which case they'll return it to you. It will be destroyed if you do not request its validation for use.

You are probably going to want a replacement passport, which will be no problem. You will still need to provide Form DS-64 to report the theft. You will also need to file Form DS-11, which is the application package for your documentation replacement. You can turn these forms in with your full application package at any passport acceptance facility or agency.




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