Do you do a lot of international traveling?
Although passports are valid for 10 years, frequent travelers with valid passports can encounter problems if they run out of pages in their US passport books. Before you leave on an international trip, check how many blank pages are in your passport. Many countries require you to have 2-4 blank visa pages. Some countries require those pages to be consecutive. If your passport doesn’t have enough pages, they won’t let you in. Airlines may also require that you have a minimum number before you can board the airplane.
If you’re not sure you have enough visa pages to travel, check the requirements with your airline and with the embassy of the country you’re traveling to. Before January 1, 2016, you could buy 24 more pages for your passport without a problem. But now, applicants who need additional pages must apply for a passport renewal. When applying for your new passport, request a 52-page book rather than the standard 28-page.
To get more visa pages for your US passport, follow these steps:
- Gather the required documents for a passport renewal.
- Mail it in with your valid US Passport.
- It costs $130 to renew your passport. For the government’s expedited service, you’ll pay a $60 extra fee and the cost of express delivery. Right now, standard requests from the government are processed within 10 to 12 weeks.
- If you need your extra passport pages faster, you can expedite your application in 5-7 weeks by making an appointment with a US Passport Agency, mail your application through the post office, or use a private expediting service like RushMyPassport.com.
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