Passport question

[Floridanamaw]

I thought I would go ahead and apply for a passport now so that when we do decide to go cruising again I would have it. One of the fields to fill in is your travel plans. What if you don't have travel plans at this time? Can't we get a passport for future use? Without one I can't plan any last minute cruises. If I have to have travel plans then I can't get one until I actually make plans. Is there a way around this or is this the only way to get one? I don't know how to proceed.

[Lisa]

I believe you only have to fill in that question if you have immediate travel plans (like you have to go to Germany for your job, or something like that.) If you don't have any immediate travel plans, leave it blank.

[Mike M]

Leave it blank.

Only if required by a certain date.

Take care,
Mike

[Floridanamaw]

Thank you. I knew I could count on somebody from here to know the answer. Now I can get the paperwork filled out and get my passport. Thanks again.

[ready2gonow]

Props to you for getting this done before you actually need it! Sure puts your mind at rest when it is time to travel.

[Floridanamaw]

One more question. What if you just don't know an answer, like where an ex spouse was born. I can guess, but may not be correct. What do you do in that case?

[TimRuth]

I think the best way to find the answer to that question is goto your local courthouse ( county government center ). They will be able to answer your question. There are also instructions on the back side of the application. Hope this helps.


Tim

[Rev22:17]

Floridanamaw,

Originally Posted by You

I thought I would go ahead and apply for a passport now so that when we do decide to go cruising again I would have it. One of the fields to fill in is your travel plans. What if you don't have travel plans at this time? Can't we get a passport for future use?

Sure -- and it's very prudent to do so! If you don't have firm plans, just just put someplace close, like "Bahamas" (or "Canada" or "Mexico" or "Bermuda" for those who live closer to these destinations) and a date four or five months out. If you want, you can indicate "(Tentative)" after it. If any official ever asks, just say that you changed your plans after you applied for the passport.

And for those who don't know, it's a very good idea to start the passport process as early as possible -- especially if you have never obtained a passport before. When my mother applied for her first passport, an irregularity in her birth record came to light. Apparently the delivering physician failed to submit the birth report to the town clerk, so the birth did not get recorded right way. The omission surfaced when she was a teenager, and her neighbors had to submit affidavits as to the date of her birth so that the clerk could make a record. When she applief for a passport for the first time, over fifty years later, teh passport office required additional documentation in the form of (1) her bapismal record (or something equivalent) showing a date shortly after her birth and (2) the page from the first federal census after her birth showing her name. She received a letter from the passport office stating that she needed to obtain and submit this information, so she had to write to the U. S. Census Bureau to obtain the census record, await its return, and then submit it to the passport office with her baptismal certificate (easily obtained, since she was local). The requirement for additional documentation added about two or three months onto the usual process before her passport arrived. The fact that such situaitons are rare is little consolation if you don't get your passport in time for a cruise because of such a situaiton. Passport renewals are much easier because the old passport is the only documentation required.

Originally Posted by You

One more question. What if you just don't know an answer, like where an ex spouse was born. I can guess, but may not be correct. What do you do in that case?

If you don't know the answer to a question, make a reasonable effort to obtain it. If that fails, write "(Unknown)" in the place in the form.

That said, I don't understand why the passport application would ask the birthplace of a former spouse, or any other question to which you would not know the answer.

Norm.

[Floridanamaw]

I don't know why either, but line 19 is: Have you ever been married...yes or no. If yes complete the remaining items....Spouse's or ex-spouse's full name.....date of birth, place of birth. I know the birth date, but not the birth place...........

[AR]

Here's the bottom line:

The fact that you're applying long before you need the passport puts you in a very advantageous position--one that more people should understand.

It allows you to submit the application without worrying about chasing after obscure information that's not at your fingertips. It is true that the question about where you're going isn't critical, and there's no reason to lie about not having determined a destination. Just put the truthful answer of "undetermined" on the form and everything will be fine.

And as to the question about the birthplace of your ex, the right answer is "unknown." Odds are overwhelming that this answer will be accepted, and if by some strange quirk it isn't, you will have time to do whatever legwork is necessary at that time, because you don't need the passport right away. To hedge the bet, it might be smart to circle the word "ex" on the application form.

There's no downside to being truthful and forthright.

[Floridanamaw]

Unfortunately I got the answers this morning in the form of an obit in the paper. He died yesterday after a long illness. I haven't been in contact with him in a while, but knew he was ill. His obit was in the morning paper with the answers that I needed. Now I have to contact the family with my sympathies. Not good here at Christmas. I would not have felt confortable not entering the correct info on the form. My luck they would single me out for not answering truthfully and I would have been in big trouble. So now I have to get my "mug" shot done. Thanks for the answers. Have a Merry Christmas.

[Fern]

Hi floridamamaw,

I'm so sorry to hear that your ex died. I know that however you feel now, you once loved him. (Been there, done that.)

My sympathies to you and the family.