Expedited American Passport For Newborn

February 3rd, 2012 | admin | Travel, Vacation

There was a time in the United States when a baby or a small child could travel on the passport of one of their parents, usually the mother. Nowadays, however, even a newborn infant must have a passport of their own. When travel is urgent or imminent, an expedited passport for newborn may be obtained. Parents may go through the procedure themselves or they may avail themselves of the services of a specialized agent.

Requirements

Applying for an infant’s passport is a little more complicated than obtaining one for a grown-up. The child’s birth certificate is required, along with proof of parental identification and consent for the infant to travel. Also required are the Social Security Numbers of both parents, proof of travel intent, completed application form, two photographs and payment of the necessary fee. There are five urgency levels for an infant passport, 24-Hour, Next Day, Priority, Rush and Expedited. It requires approximately two weeks for processing and the passport is mailed directly to the parent or parents.

DS-11

The application form is called a DS-11 (Application for a expedited US passport for newborn). This may be obtained from a passport agency or an acceptance facility. It may be filled in online and then printed or it may be printed out first and then filled in by hand. It is essential that the form not be signed until instructed to.

Submission

The passport will be valid for five years and it may not be renewed. The application needs to be submitted in person and the baby itself has to be there.

Photos

Requirements for the two passport photographs are rather stringent. They need to be 2 inches by 2 inches in size with a white or whitish background. The head size has to be between 1 and 1.375 inches with no had or anything else worn on the head. It must be taken no more than six months before the date of the application.

Photo Requirements

The look on the child’s face must be natural. This means there can be no smiling, laughing, screaming or crying. Their mouth must be shut and must not contain a pacifier or anything else. The child should face the camera straight on and looking directly at it. Nothing apart from the infant can be visible in the photo. This includes the parent’s hands, face or arms. There cannot even be a car seat in the picture. It may be easier to pay extra and have this done by a professional photographer.

Citizenship

The infant’s parents must provide proof of their own American citizenship. This can be a naturalization certificate, a valid passport, a Consular Report of Birth, a certificate of citizenship or a certified birth certificate.

Unless both of the baby’s parents can show up together to submit the application for an expedited US pasport for newborn, the absent parent must fill in a form called, Issuance of a Passport to a Minor Under Age 16. A American pasport renewal application may have to be filled out.