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Need a U.S. passport? The application fee is increasing from $55 to $70.
Planning an international trip? For Americans who still need to obtain a passport, or renew an existing one, the price is going up.
The application fee for a passport has jumped 27 percent to $70, from $55, with the passport security surcharge doubling to $40 from $20. (And don't forget the $25 "execution fee" on top of those costs.)
And for those frequent travelers to parts abroad, the department now charges $82 — up from zero — to add new pages to a U.S. passport. It says the fee is needed to offset the cost of the pages, the time spent affixing the pages into the passport book, endorsing the passport and performing a quality-control check.
Those are just a few of a long list of fee increases for the department's consular services that were published Thursday in the Federal Register. The U.S. State Department said it raised the fees after finding that the "U.S. Government was not fully covering its costs for providing these consular services."
To see the list of current fees or to apply for a U.S. passport, visit the State Department's Passport site.
Of course, you can always avoid all that paperwork and instead visit one of the 50 states in the good ol' US of A.
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More people will be needing them to leave the USA for good. Don't forget to get molested by the TSA on your way out!
I will need one to get back. Everyone wants to be safe, you can call that molestation, I travel all the time never ever been molested.
This is the greatest country in the world, its downfall will be bigotry from within, and rise of the idiot class :), they just parrot everything negative that they hear.
Surprise surprire if you want to leave the country for good, it will cost you more. Thank god it doesn't cost you your citizenship or your pension or you low tax rate for being a traitor.
The price of a cheeseburger used to be 9 cents and now it is on the dollar menu everywhere, the first car i got cost me 6770 dollars the same care now would cost me 20k+
The price of everything goes up.
So reasonable.....yet phusi lost all credibility when s/he defended the TSA. I'll will make this brief: they do not keep us safe,and because of the body scanners they cost more lives than they theoretically save, and there is only one person responsible for your safety.
You either accept the risks of a free society, or you can choose not to live in one. We don't punish everyone in our society because a few will abuse the freedoms. Remember when the country had to decide if it was better to be "red or dead"? I can see what you would have picked. Anything to be safe.
Phusi, It's molestation---read the Fourth Amendment. For those who are "afraid" or "live in fear" maybe flying isn't the best mode of transportation to use then.
What's this nonsense about being a traitor? I thought we were FREE PERSONS capable of making my own decisions without a nanny government, or citizen telling us how to live or where we can live. Sily me, that's what I thought the purpose of the revolution, abolition, suffrage, civil rights, etc. were for?
They are commonly refered to as "ex - pats" probably because these Patriots got TIRED of all the 24/7 political crap that has been devouring the minds and assets of the sheeple, I mean people, for too long. Let's face it, America is a very expensive and exhausting place to live.
Ever been to Panama or Costa Rica? Beautiful, peaceful and low key. Nice places for "pensioners" to live for far cheaper than here in the US. Go check it out.
Government's gotta make a buck. Hey maybe we could subsidize this with the money they collect from raising taxes on the rich.
There is no violation of your Constitutional rights at all. You are consenting to this treatment, so that you can get on an airplane you are free to walk away, and walk or drive or take a boat to your destination.
You are a free person, but when people make stupid statements like If Obama gets elected I am leaving the country only to be still sitting there 3-4 years latter, makes one a joke.
Yeah I have been to all those countries big fan of the Delray, but one doesn't walk around after sunset you take a cab everywhere because it is to dangerous to walk. All the houses have bars on the windows and the cops shake you down for walking around. Great places to visit and party but give me the good old USA USA!!
phusi:There is no violation of your Constitutional rights at all
That's where your wrong. We have the right to travel unimpeded by any mode of transportation even by air. Buying an airline ticket is not "implied consent" to pat downs, scanning or other illegal searches of your person or belongings. Giving up your Constitutional rights for a false sense of security is never an option.
"This is the greatest country in the world"
You really still believe that? That's cute.
@ The one & only: please show me anywhere that it IMPLICITLY states about your rights to travel "unimpeded". There are none. What people perceive to be their "rights" and what the rights actually are are separated by a large gulf. You are free to choose another mode of travel that doesn't include searches or scans. I do not agree with the need for pat downs or body scans either, but I understand when I enter the airport that is a reasonable expectation that I may have to have someone look in my bag. It's an inconvenience I tolerate b/c I like flying and the costs to drive are not always better. I could only imagine the fake outrage that if we got rid of the TSA or HSA and a terror attack was perpetrated on a plane how many people would be flabbergasted that we got rid of them and allowed this to happen!
And why does the cost of anything go up??? One reason is at the start of it all. Greed!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A person wants more money to buy more THINGS!!! the cost of a product only rises because somewhere in the chain a person wants more money, and it may be because somewhere in that chain he had to pay more for a product that someone else also wanted more money for. Plain and simple greed drives the price for any product in this world. I have it and you want it mentality..... We create our own inflation through greed somewhere along the chain.
So if as a free society we should eliminate the TSA and simply accept the risks, should we also eliminate stop lights, speed limits and bank guards by the same theory?
For Chris-1266664. OK, I'll do your homework for you. Search for the phrase "Freedom of movement under United States law" Wikipedia has a nice explanation of it.
It really pays to read and understand your Constitutional Rights so that domestic agencies don't trample on them. If you read that article it explains that the right to free movement was considered so fundamental that it was understood as a right by the Founders and didn't require implicit definition. Subsequent court cases have determined interpretation.
Sounds just like the airlines!!! Fees on top of fees on top of fees, all the while taxing the tax on the tax.
I'm confused as I just got a passport to go on a vacation trip in Canada. I paid the $110 fee plus a $25 administration fee. Where does the $55 come in?
They forgot to mention that if you want it within 2-3 weeks, they charge you 50 bucks... If not, it will get processed normally and not received for about 5-6 weeks.
I just renewed my passport, and it took me 3 weeks to get it. Based on these new fees, thank goodness I renewed it now.
Sorry about that - the system just posted my comment twice.
I applied for mine at the post office in July 2010 and received it exactly one week later with normal processing. Received my birth certificate back the day after my passport arrived.
Careful at the rate some states are going we will need one to travel between states.
Certain times of the year are higher application periods and it takes a little longer to process them. When I renewed mine here in the USVI, it took just over a week for the new one to arrive, along with the cancelled old one. Peak vacation seasons (late fall/early winter and early summer often are peak times as people plan their vacations.) I think I paid $110 for the renewal.
>> Careful at the rate some states are going we will need one to travel between states.
Funny you should say this. CA already has established check points where they check for produce. This was in response to the Mediterranean fruit fly scare in the 1980s.
That grasping, gasping sound you're hearing is Uncle Sam going bankrupt, and pulling out all the stops to extort more revenue - from whatever source it can.
You know, those billion dollar a day wars we're waging costs a lot of daddy-greenbucks!
Glad I've gotten mine done this past Fall before fees are going up! (PS I've paid $50 for processing and $110 for the booklet)
PPS The $55 is for the card passport in which it's for non-flight such as by boat; the $110 is for the booklet in which it's for everything (by land, water, air).
You can take your up in fees and stick them up your collective GREEDY butts... Have a day!
They forgot in the article's last paragraph that you can also travel to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands without a passport.....as long as you are not going to be making any side trips to other islands (BVI, etc.)
Passports are valid for ten years. Seems to me a world traveler should be able to afford 20 cents per week.
Let's not jump to conclusions - my fiance has to get a passport so we can take our honeymoon (a road trip, with more camping than hotels) to Canada, and $120+ is a large expense for a couple of teachers - especially since we probably won't be using our passports for much else over the next 10 years. To me it seems like a wee bit more than what it realistically costs to produce a passport.
Maybe for a "world traveler" it's cheap. How about someone who just wants to go to the beach 60 miles south of the border? 2 nights hotel, $90. Food and beverage, $50. Passport $135 (or passport card for $55).
Up until 3 years ago you didn't need a passport at all to drive to Mexico or Canada. And you don't actually need one to travel to Mexico. You just need one for the US government to let you back into your own country.
@maineteacher: You should have looked into getting the cheaper Passport Card rather than a full book, especially if you plan on driving.
The Card is only $55 total ($30 + $25), and is good for both land and sea crossings to/from Canada and Mexico (and a handful of other places in the Western Hemisphere), but not by air.
Don’t think you’ll balance the budget that way.
No, but that fact won't stop 'em from trying!
Let's not jump to conclusions - my fiance has to get a passport so we can take our honeymoon (a road trip, with more camping than hotels) to Canada, and $120+ is a large expense for a couple of teachers - especially since we probably won't be using our passports for much else over the next 10 years. To me it seems like a wee bit more than what it realistically costs to produce a passport.
And how much are you spending on the wedding? The passport is more than just a "one trip" ID for a foreign visit. You never know when you MIGHT need that passport again, and with the 5-6 weeks that it takes to get one, you don't want to risk not having it if there is ever some type of emergency trip that will require one. I guess you don't plan on ever taking a cruise, right? They are REQUIRED for a cruise that leaves the US borders.
The cost of the paper isn't the only cost associated with that passport. The cost includes the security measures built into the document/paper, the cost of maintaining the computer records, security for those electronic records, etc. Remember that your passport is SCANNED every time you use it to verify that it is a valid passport. Down the road, we may have to have retinal/fingerprint ID's for travel for security verifications.
Better get yours now before the price & fees quadruple - the government's lust for our money is insatiable and needs no real justification.
No surprise there. The DMV keeps increasing their fees for tag renewals.
Well the US Goverment has a new cash cow now. They always find a way to stick it to US citizens
Yeah, because they produce billions of dollars worth of passports every year. Cash cow my a$$.
</sarcasm>
TYPICAL..........
Just like the Postal Service.......Government Idiots caused massive losses (Including JOBS)!
ANYTHING the Government controls is a LOSER!
Oops.....don't worry.....Oblamer has his "lazer" focus on jobs ( in 2008). Gotta go travel and party!
I am horrified about the Gov't nightmare with Obamacare!!!!
Confused? The passport fees went up to these prices a few years ago.
Yeah this is nothing new. the passport fee has been at this price since July/August 2010. Someone must not have been paying attention (msnbc???). Cause i was certain to get mine mailed in to renew just before the price hike.
If you can afford international travel, you can afford a passport. Stop whining.
This GD country has gone fee crazy, on top of everything else.
No problem paying the added charges as a US citizen, just so long as the passport and or visa charges for incoming tourists, workers, etc. has been adjusted upward as well. Surely the government wouldn't raise the costs on American citizens without first ensuring the costs on non citizens are applied too
Illegal aliens don't need passports...
Non-citizens get their passports in their home countries, so our fee structure does not apply to them. Not to worry, though, I am sure we charge them an appropriate Visa fee upon entry.
Still a bargain. What else can you buy for that price that's good for ten years?
"Confused? The passport fees went up to these prices a few years ago."
"Yes, HEATHER".......They certainly Did go up......to $90!
NOW..a Passport is $110 plus $25 fee............DUH .....$135.
AND it is not Other countries requiring this.....it is the US Gov't requiring this to "RETURN" to the US!
Don't even go there with me......I've been a Travel Agency Owner for 25 yrs. and know the facts!
It might be good for 10 years, but if you don't use it, it's a waste of money. I got one when my child went to Europe a few years ago in case anything happened & I needed to travel quickly. I've never used it.
Already expensive as hell. Personally, there seems to be fewer and fewer places where we seemed to be welcome. So much for all our philanthropy, our good will.
Passports are just like Airline Security, Immigration Applications, Pistol Permits, and countless other government "Services" they suddenly decide you can't do without. The Government bloats the process with useless bureaucracy, then complains they don't make enough money to cover the "service" they are giving you.
The rolls of the unemployed fell by 1.5 million... 250,000 people got jobs, 1,250,000 people stopped looking for work... you're doing a heck of a job Barack.
2008 = Obama campaign theme: "Hope and Change"
2012 = Obama campaign theme: "Fear and Envy"
82 dls for extra pages,yeah that tape they use is really expensive,Quality control,WHAT A JOKE
The new citizen charge coming on taxes for 2013 will wake you up. All US citizens will pay 28.00 per citizen starting in 2013 and then it goes up 25% to a maximum of $125.00 after 5 years. Who knows after that.
It seems reasonable to me to raise the fees.
I could be completely incorrect but I believe that the process of getting a passport used to basically verify that we were American citizens. I'm hoping that the process now involves quite a bit more scrutiny.
I was not happy when we started needing passports simply to go through Canada but the world is a different place now.
Yes it's a different place because we let the terrorists win. They wanted us to ramp up security and give up our freedoms. How many terrorist attacks in the U.S. since 9/11? Just a few failed attempts by morons. The terrorists don't need to attack again, because they've already got us nervous as hell looking for the next bad guy. They won't need to use a passport when they enter the U.S. because they'll travel to Mexico and sneak across the border. The TSA is a joke.
I've heard this argument before but I think it's bunk.
I believe the radical muslims want to kill as many infidels as possible, not make our lives a bit more uncomfortable.
Don't you acknowledge that we haven't had another huge attack at least in part because of the increases in security?
After the towers fell, would you have been happier if the US attitude was "Gee, I wish you hadn't done that, please don't do it again."
If you are complaining about the fees, then don't travel outside the US.
@Nav-399861; is this your answer to everything? If the cose of food, insurance, drugs keep going up so you just stop using them? The real question is; where do we draw the line when costs are keep going up while the incomes are not close enough to match the inflation...