Passport Instructions

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Instructions Regarding Your Passport

In order to go to Brazil, you must have a valid passport.

If you already have a valid passport, please see Section I for instructions.

If you do not have a valid passport already, then you must apply for a new passport immediately.

Please see Section II for instructions.

If you have a passport, but it expires within 6 months of the day you arrive back in the United States from your trip, you will need to renew your passport. Please see Section III for instructions.

NOTE: Please call our offices at 706-353-1546 as soon as you get your passport. Or if you already have a valid passport, please call to let us know that as well.

Section I

If You Already Have a Valid Passport

1 – If you already have a valid U.S. Passport, please make sure that it expires more than 6 months from the date your return from your missions trip. If it expires earlier than that, you will need to apply for a passport renewal (see Section III below).

2 – Also, make sure that you have signed your passport on the first page. If not, please sign it now.

Section II

Applying for a New Passport

(For applicants over 14 years of age)

1 – First you must complete the official Passport application (Passport Form DS-11). A copy is included in this application packet. If you wish to fill it out online, you may download it at

http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html.

You can also apply for a passport at many U.S. Post Office locations.

2 – You will need to obtain Proof of US Citizenship. You will send this in with your passport application. Acceptable forms of certified US citizenship include:

- A certified birth certificate issued by the city, county, or state (NOTE: A certified birth certificate has a registrar’s raised, embossed, impressed, or multicolored seal on it. It also has the registrar’s signature and the date the certificate was filed with the registrar’s office. A copy of this certificate or any birth certificate without the raised seal on it will not be accepted.)

- A previous U.S. Passport (mutilated, altered, or damaged passports are not accepted)

- A Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certification of Birth

- Naturalization Certificate

- Certificate of Citizenship

- If you do not have a previous U.S. Passport or a certified birth certificate, you will need:

i. A Letter of No Record (issued by the State with your name, date of birth, which years were searched for a birth record, and indicating that there is no birth certificate on file for you)

ii – AND as many of the following as possible: baptismal certificate, hospital birth certificate, census record, early school record, family Bible record, doctor’s record of post-natal care (NOTE: these documents must be early public records showing the date and place of birth, preferably within the first five years of life).

3 – You will also need to obtain a Current Proof of Identity. You will also send this in with your passport. Acceptable forms of Proven Identity include:

- A previous U.S. Passport

- Naturalization Certificate

- Certificate of Citizenship

- Current Driver’s License (must be still valid)

- Government ID (city, state, or federal)

- Military ID (military and dependents)

NOTE: Your Social Security Card does NOT prove your identity.

- If none of these are available, you will need:

i. Some signature documents, not acceptable alone as ID (i.e. your Social Security card, credit card, bank card, library card, etc.)

ii. A person who can vouch for you. He/she must: have known you for at least 2 years, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, have a valid ID, and fill out a Form DS-71 in the presence of a passport agent.

4 – You will also need to provide them with two passport photos. YOU MAY NOT TAKE THE PICTURE YOURSELF. You may get passport sized photos made for you at places like: most U.S. Post Offices, many drug stores (i.e. CVS Pharmacy). Your photographs must be:

- 2×2 inches in size

- Identical

- Taken within the past 6 months, showing your current appearance

- In color (in other words, no black & white photograph)

- Full face, front view with a plain white or off-white background

- Taken in normal street attire

- Taken without wearing a hat or something that will obscure your hair or hairline

NOTE: If you normally wear prescription glasses, a hearing device, wig or similar articles, they should be worn for your picture.

5 – You will need to pay a Passport Fee. Fees have gone up in 2010; for adults the cost is approximately $100. Your passport application will state the amount you must pay.

6 – To pay, you may use one of the following methods:

- Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover)

- Debit/Check Card (not ATM cards)

- Check, money order, or bank draft

NOTE: You may expedite your passport for an additional Expedite Fee, plus the costs of overnight delivery by mail. You need to arrange the overnight delivery for both ways.

7 – After you have all these materials together, make copies of all of them. Then mail them to the Passport Agency nearest you. We strongly recommend mailing via either FedEx or U.S. Priority Next Day Mail. You may get the address for the nearest Passport Agency by either asking at your local U.S. Post Office or looking online at http://iafdb.travel.state.gov/. Mail in a padded envelope. Include a prepaid overnight return envelope in with your package.

8 – It should take approximately 6 weeks for you to get your passport back if you used the regular service. If you paid to have yours expedited, then you should receive it within two weeks.

Section III

Renewing Your Passport

1 – You are eligible to apply for a passport renewal by mail if:

- You already have a passport that is not damaged, AND

- Your passport was issued within the past 15 years, AND

- You were at least age 16 when it was issued, AND

- You still have the same name as you had in that passport (or you can legally document your name change)

- IF YOU MEET ALL THESE REQUIREMENTS, READ ON. IF NOT, YOU MUST APPLY FOR A NEW PASSPORT (see Section II above).

2 – First you must complete the official Passport application (Passport Renewal Form DS-82). You may download it at: http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html. If you are unable to do this, please call us at 706-353-1546, and we can mail you a copy of the official form.

3 – Along with your completed DS-82 form, please include the following in the package you mail to the National Passport Center:

- Your most recent U.S. passport

- Two identical passport photographs (for specifications, see Section II, #4 above)

- A Passport Renewal Fee which should be approximately $75.

NOTE: You may expedite your passport for an Expedite Fee, plus the costs of overnight delivery by mail. You need to arrange the overnight delivery for both ways.

NOTE: If your name has changed since your passport was issued, then please enclose a certified copy of the legal document specifying your name change (i.e. marriage certificate, divorce decree, adoption decree, court order, etc.). No copies are acceptable.

4 – Once you have all these materials together, please mail them in a padded envelope to:

National Passport Center

P.O. Box 371971

Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7971

NOTE: Include a prepaid overnight return envelope in with your package.

NOTE: If you are using a delivery service that does not deliver to a Post Office box (i.e. FedEx), then send it to:

Passport Services – Lockbox

ATTN: Passport Supervisor 371971

500 Ross Street, Rm. 154-0670

Pittsburgh, PA 15250-9971

5 – It should take approximately 6 weeks for you to get your passport back if you used the regular service. If you paid to have yours expedited, then you should receive it within two weeks.

NOTE: AGAIN, PLEASE CALL OUR OFFICES AT 706-353-1546

AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE YOUR PASSPORT.