I was speaking to a friend of mine today, and he said that about a year ago, his dog ate his passport! We’ve all heard the story about the dog eating homework, but a passport? So, what should you do if your passport is lost or stolen?
Lost Passport
CNtraveler.com has an article that says, “Most of us have been there: prepping our tickets and travel docs for an upcoming flight, only to realize, with a sinking feeling, that the little blue book is nowhere to be found. For many, this is (thankfully) a false alarm—a passport slipped into a different part of your bag, say, or is sitting somewhere in plain sight. For others, a passport really is just that: lost.
According to the U.S. Department of State, more than 300,000 American passports are lost or stolen in the U.S. each year. Regardless of where in the world you are, reporting a lost or stolen passport as soon as possible is necessary to help protect you against identity theft. And no matter how savvy of a traveler you are, it does happen.”
Full story here: https://www.cntraveler.com/story/lost-passport-heres-what-to-do
The U.S. State department has detailed instructions at this link: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/lost-stolen.html
From what I understand, if you say your passport was destroyed, it takes a whole lot more effort getting your passport replaced, than just saying you passport was lost. Now, I’m not saying to be dishonest, or to lie, but if you’re in a rush to get your passport, do what you think is best.
In addition, while you’re thinking about it, grab your passport right now and check the expiration date! I can’t tell you how many people I know who were about to travel and suddenly realized their passport was about to expire.
Passport Card vs. Passport “Book”
I also have a friend who thought she could save a few pennies by purchasing the less expensive “passport card”, instead of the “passport book”. When her family was about to board a plane to Mexico for a luxury all-inclusive resort vacation, she was told by airport officials at the gate that the passport card isn’t valid for overseas air travel!
Click on the link below for more details of the difference between a passport card vs. passport book:
https://www.rushmypassport.com/blog/passports-vs-passport-cards/
