Question: Will the passport office have another fair soon? I wasn’t able to get there Sept. 7.
Answer: No, not in September or October, according to the posted schedule. However, if you are at least 25 years old and not a first-time applicant, online renewal for U.S. passports reopened Wednesday, a convenient option if you’re comfortable handling the transaction on your own. A 10-year passport that will expire within a year, or which has expired within the past five years, is eligible for online renewal, as long as the applicant meets other requirements, according to the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs. Applicants who meet the following requirements can renew online, it says:
>> “The passport you are renewing is or was valid for 10 years, and you are age 25 or older.”
>> “We issued the passport you are renewing between 2009 and 2015, or over 9 years but less than 15 years from the date you plan to submit your application.”
>> “You are not changing your name, gender, date of birth, or place of birth.”
>> “You are not traveling for at least 8 weeks from the date you will submit your application. We will only offer routine service, and the time it takes to get a passport will be the same as renewing by mail.”
>> “You are applying for a regular (tourist) passport. You cannot renew a special issuance (diplomatic, official, service) passport online.”
>> “You live in the United States (either state or territory). You do not qualify to renew online if you live in a foreign country or have an Army Post Office (APO) or Fleet Post Office (FPO) address.”
>> “You have your passport with you, and it is not damaged or mutilated, and you have not reported it as lost or stolen. Keep your most recent passport and do not mail it to us.”
>> “You can pay for your passport using a credit or debit card.”
>> “You can upload a digital passport photo.”
>> “You are aware that we will cancel the passport you are renewing after you submit your application. You cannot use it for international travel.”
Those unable to renew online may be able to renew by mail or in person at a passport acceptance facility or U.S. passport office. Review all the options at travel.state.gov Opens in a new tab. A link to the online application is there as well, as is information about obtaining a passport for the first time.
The State Department designates September as National Passport Month, hosting special events at passport offices around the country, including the one Sept. 7 at the federal building in Honolulu.
Such fairs are mainly for first-time applicants and children who must apply in person using Form DS-11, according to the bureau. “Adults who are eligible to renew a passport using Form DS-82 can submit the application online or by mail at any time,” it said in a news release Wednesday.
We hear from readers who are eligible to renew by mail, and now online, but prefer that an expert reviews their application before it is submitted to the State Department. Those folks can use Form DS-11 and appear in person, but they will pay more than if they had used the renewal form. To find the closest passport acceptance facility, go to iafdb.travel.state.gov Opens in a new tab.
Mahalo
I’d like to extend a great big Mahalo to Terry for helping me navigate the Tripler Pharmacy medication pickup system. It was my first time picking up medications for my mother-in-law and I had a difficult time trying to figure out how to get access to the proper locker. I saw Terry waiting in line to pick up from the lockers and asked her for some help and she directed me to the kiosks (which I had tried earlier). After picking up her order, Terry noticed me still trying to figure out the kiosk. She led me down the hall to the refill windows around the back of the windows facing the lobby and helped me get the information I needed. She even went back to the lockers with me and made sure I was able to get the prescriptions from the locker! So thank you, Terry, I truly appreciate your aloha! — Paul C.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
