Applying for a US Passport

[franztastisch]

Setting: present day Virginia

I am looking into applying for a US passport (obviously not for myself, but for a character). I found this which is super useful. My character has never had a passport before and needs a photo ID to get one but my character also has none of the things listed as valid photo ID. The above website goes on to say:

If you

Comments

[nighean_isis]

A side note about state issued ID cards:

I had one for *years* because I needed proof of identity but didn't know how to drive. In my state (California) you apply for a ID card the same way you apply for a driver's license - it's even the same form, you just check ID Card instead of Driver's License.

As bellweather said, for a **first time** passport, you'd need to go in person. I'm lucky - I live close to a major passport office (San Francisco) and my mom went with me. I was applying for a passport to travel abroad for college. I used my State-issued ID, my Social Security Card, Birth Certificate and (since I had it) my Military Dependent's ID card as proof of citizenship. Overkill, since any two of the four would have worked.

Check the link bellweather provided for the closest passport office to your character's location and go from there.

[franztastisch]

Thank you! Weirdly, your reason for applying for a passport is the same as my characters. He's applying for the passport before having chosen where he's going yet though and the application form asks for the country your travelling to and the duration of stay. Do you know if you can apply without having a destination in mind? You can in the UK.

[frenchroast]

You can put pretty much anything in there, because you don't *have* to actually go out of the country after you get your passport. Example: my brother got a passport while I was studying abroad in France. He put France and two weeks. He never actually came to visit. I would just have your character put the most likely place they'll go, and a duration that is under 90 days (b/c most places want some kind of visa if you're going to stay there longer than that).

Also, while today you have to apply in person for your first passport (usually at a post office, and it's easy enough to look up where you need to go to do so; it's not a big deal, honestly; my husband had to drive 30 minutes to a nearby town for his, but he said it was super easy), back when I got my first one in 2002, you didn't have to.

As for the passport photo, pretty much every big-chain drugstore (Walgreen's or CVS, for example) has the set up to take passport photos, since they also process film/digital photos. They usually cost between $15-$20.

[franztastisch]

Thanks! Good to know about the country thing. :)

[belleweather]

Yep, you can leave that section blank and we don't care.