Travel and Leisure

Dropped Your Passport In The Water? Expedited Damaged Passport Replacement

Passports are very sensitive documents. A passport that is distorted or illegible cannot be used for international travel. Some modern passports have electronic chips embedded inside them. These chips can be damaged quite easily if not handled with care. Damaged passports must be replaced. If a passport is needed quickly it is possible to apply for expedited damaged U.S. passport replacement.

A passport may be considered damaged for a variety of reasons. If the picture on the passport is no longer clear, the passport may be considered damaged. If the passport number is no longer legible, it will most definitely be considered damaged. If the electronic chip (on newer passports) or certain holograms are damaged, the passport may be considered damaged. Furthermore, if any of the vital information on the passport is obstructed or obscured in any way the passport will be considered damaged.

Some common things that can happen to a passport that can cause damage are things like dropping it in water. Carrying it in a back pocket when running around all day and it gets moist and creased. Something could get spilled on it and mar the writing or other details that are needed to be seen clearly. The possibilities are literally endless.

A damaged passport can cause a variety of problems. Damaged passports may be difficult to read, which is likely to cause delays at border crossings. Likewise, damaged passports may look fraudulent and it may be difficult to verify a damaged passport. Often times, if the front page of the passport book has been removed due to a tear or water damage, the immigration official may suspect that the passport has been tampered with for the sake of identity theft.

It is not really hard to replace a passport that is damaged. All it really involves is downloading some forms off of the Internet, filling them out and then sending them out with payment and the damaged passport to get the new one. If there is the need to get it quicker than standard processing allows, there are expedited services that can be used.

The process of getting an expedited replacement passport is pretty much the same as getting a new passport without much of the hassle. There is a fee associated with the application of $60 along with any shipping costs that would be incurred for delivery. If this is not quick enough, there are other routes that can be taken.

The U.S. Department of State estimates that an expedited damaged passport replacement application will take two to three weeks to process. Some services offer various forms of expedited processing including one-week processing, overnight processing, or even same-day processing. Same day processing fees can sometimes approach $300.

Anyone with a damaged passport that needs to replace it quickly should most definitely consider paying the extra money for expedited damaged United States passport replacement. It is dangerous and irresponsible to travel with a damaged passport, so if steps can be taken to get a pass port replacement, then these steps must be taken.