Is it only when we go outside of the country or is just going anywhere? How much does it cost to get one, and do you believe the price of it should be reduced?
2007-03-05 09:47:31 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Immigration
American Citizens need passports to travel outside of the country, just like everyone else.
You can get them for about $70 at a US Post Office. You will need to get a passport photo taken first though. My wife and I did ours at a WalMart.
Seemed really spendy though, but it is acceptable identification for nearly every country in the world.
2007-03-05 09:50:52 · answer #1 · answered by Culture Warrior 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When you travel outside the US and territories (places like Guam or Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands don't require a passport, but if you have a stopover in a non-US territory you may need one.) Currently, if you enter Canada or Mexico by air, you do need one, but if you enter by land you don't. This will change in January of 2008-you'll need a passport to travel by land as well.
I paid $97 for my new passport last year, not including the photographs. $67 went to the State Department for processing the passport, and $30 was an "execution fee" paid to the post office that I got the passport at. (I'd had a youth passport, but needed to renew it into an adult passport, and so, it was treated as a new application.) Certainly $67 isn't unreasonable for the State Department to process the passport for me, but $30 to the local post office for the five minutes he spent with me, reviewing the documents I'd brought and making a photocopy of my birth certificate seemed excessive. The US government is going to make available a border crossing card in lieu of a passport for people living in border towns who may cross frequently into Mexico or Canada which is estimated to cost about half what a passport does. I could certainly see how it might be frustrating to some people who have family abroad and want to travel to see them, but are prohibited to because of the cost of a passport. Then again, if they're planning travel, and expecting to incur that cost, the cost of a passport would be part of those expenses. It's unplanned travel that could be an issue.
2007-03-05 18:39:58 · answer #2 · answered by Erika G 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually when you look at it, a passport is one of the best forms of ID you could have. It is accepted everywhere, it allows you, with the proper visas, to travel anywhere in the world. When you are applying for a job, an passport is definitive proof you are authorized to work in the US.
I have had my passport for a few years now, so the price has increased.
My wife is Chinese, and when she read the request from the US Secretary of State that asks that we are not delayed and that we recieve all legal aid, decided right then and there she wanted to become a US citizen, because to her, that statement meant that the US expected respect for its citizens and had the power to back it up....Unlike her Chinese passport, which had a statement she considered wimpy in comparison.
2007-03-05 18:59:50 · answer #3 · answered by carlsharp2002 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I just got mine in December and it cost me $93 plus the cost of the photos and postage for them to mail the passport to me. My passport is good for 10 years.
You need it already for other than private car passage out of and back into the country. Not sure of the date you will need it for other travel. You don't need a passport for travelling within the USA.
No, I think the price is fair.
2007-03-05 18:35:46 · answer #4 · answered by Daisy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Only to go outside the country and territories (you don't need one to go to Puerto Rico, and you won't need one until next year to go to Mexico or Canada BY LAND, just a birth certificate and drivers' license.)
It isn't that expensive, something like $45 plus the cost of pictures and postage, and you can get one through your post office. If you need it on a rush basis it is more.
No, I don't think it should cost less. If you can afford to travel, you can pay the cost of this. I don't think other taxpayers should have to pay for our travel abilities.
Go to the Dept of State web page for details.
(Others are sayint $60 -70 which may be right. When I got mine I needed it on a rush basis and had to pay much more, so I defer to them on the normal cost.)
2007-03-05 17:52:32 · answer #5 · answered by DAR 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You only need it when you leave the country. It costs $75 plus the cost of the photographs. I think the price is reasonable.
2007-03-05 17:55:24 · answer #6 · answered by redunicorn 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Going outside of the country but you have to be a US citizen to get one.
2007-03-05 19:16:30 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Americans need passports, just like everyone else. We shouldn't be given special preferences.
2007-03-06 09:58:01 · answer #8 · answered by cariocecus76 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just for leaving the country.
Someday we will all have to have official Government ID
Don't remember the cost, it was too long ago
Go to US Passport.com
2007-03-05 17:52:28 · answer #9 · answered by Nort 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
only if you leave the usa. you msut have never traveled. you are free to travel anywhere in the usa an territories.
learn more at www.travel.state.gov the us state dept of travel and passort info
2007-03-05 18:09:40 · answer #10 · answered by CCC 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋