The passport must have at least six (6) months validity left before expiration and at least one blank page left in it.
The little diddy above served up a reminder of just how long our journey for Alyzabeth An has and is taking. Not a whine - just a statement of fact. When we started the process back in the summer of '05 we did a check of our passport expiration dates and smiled a smile of contentment. No problem for us. Our expiration date was January of '09.
Fast forward (ouch, poor choice of words) to today and guess what? Anyone want to take a guess as to when we'll get our referral? When we'll get our TA? You know the drill: Guessing. Planning. Waiting. Repeat.
So I casually mentioned to Alyson that maybe we needed to check the dates on our passports just to be on the safe side. After all, its not like any of us have additional PAPERWORK issues to contend with. Or redundant FEES. Or FINGERPRINTS that somehow have aged like spoiled milk in the refrigerator that must be pitched and replaced. Geez, I'm starting to shout. Sorry about that...
So we do our best guess at referral. Ummm, earliest we figure would be February '08 with March '08 now getting top billing. Then we guess again on the TA. April sounds way too soon but May has a nice ring to it. Of course that could slip into June. We settle on May. Then we count out 6 months. That makes it November. We don't expire (the passports-not us-God willing) for 2 months. We ponder. Too close for comfort. We've worked too hard and come too far to screw it all up now.
So today I trudge off to the post office and pick up the renewal forms. Then I hit our savings account once again. Get the new photos. Check and recheck that everything is accurate. Nothing misspelled - especially our names, etc. Mail everything off and then guess what?
We do what we've done so well for so long now. We WAIT.
So, have you checked your passport lately and counted your fingers and toes while wearing your best guessing hat? Have you? Hope so. As for me, catch you later, I'm off to the Post Office.
Peace and may your passport not expire until sometime after 2050...
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16 comments:
Ours expired this March so we are good on that front at least.
Keep smilin!
Ford & Alyson,
First of all, LOVE you guys.
We applied for new passports at the beginning of March when we were released from the bondage of the Review Room. Still have not received them. This is probably due to the flood of applications the office received in January when the US began requiring passports at the borders of Canada & Mexico. You are wise to take care of this so early on, my friend.
You can download an application at
http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/renew/renew_833.html
......but just in case you're still going to the Post Office, could you pick me up 20 of the 2 cent makeup stamps?
You're the best!
Don:
I'm taking it you and Be are back home.
Thanks for passport link. It was a breeze filling out the form online and printing them out. I'll still need to mail them off so I'll pick up your stamps then...
I'll make sure you get them when we meet up in St Augustine this Fall (when the weather COOLS OFF). We have a couple of nice wine & tapas places we want you and Be to sample.
Thanks bro... Peace
fm
I was about to start freaking out over here! NOT ANOTHER FEE!!! But I check ours and they don't expire until 2015. If it takes that freaking long to get China...I can't even finish that sentence
"If it takes that freaking long to get China...I can't even finish that sentence"
Wendy, you put the smile on my face. Happy to hear your passport is good to go.
Still laughing...
fm
Yuck! Just another thing to do that doesn't make you feel any better about this stinkin' long wait.
We'll have to catch dinner after the Aug. FCC meeting.
Thanks for the heads up! Thank God we are all good, here! The word "paperwork" makes me a bit queasy these days!
Diane
We just got our passports last December, so we're ok. I think we're going to be seeing more and more of these issues now that the wait is increasing.
Ford,
I love what you just posted on my blog. I would never delete it. It's the truth of what we are going through and I'm glad that I'm not alone in what I'm feeling. I'm sad that Alyson is going through it too though. I also am a stepmother and it is a very thankless job. It is much more difficult than parenting my own. It takes so much love and patience and we don't get a lot of either in return. It's all worth it though. I'm glad that Alyson has you. I also am fortunate in having an amazing husband.
Drop by my blog anytime.
"Ugh!" to that news. One thing I won't have to worry about - my passport was freshly minted with the start of the adoption.
I know one of our passports expire in 2009-- and with an LID of Nov 2006-- we better be prepared to renew.
That's one thing we know we don't have to worry about, thank goodness! We are all up to date - now, we just need to finally go ahead and get those immunizations we have been putting off....
Thanks for stopping by our blog. I'll add you guys to our links!
Susan and Jonathan Love
Thank you, that was a great PSA. I'll bet there are a lot of people out there who will be caught unaware if they don't see your post or one like it!
What a PIA.
that's nurse speak for 'pain in the ass'.
(yes we leave in our report to each other)
I know I re-checked our's just three months ago, we are good for a couple of years yet!!
Passport update - both our passports arrived Monday after a 4.5 month wait.
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