Information On The New Passport Application Form

by garrett on October 10, 2011

There is different information that is required to complete the new passport application form DS-11. You may even have to complete a supplementary biographical questionnaire. This questionnaire is very difficult to fill out because the amount and kind of information you are required to supply. It requires such things as facts surrounding your birth and residences throughout your life.

Age Requirements

The new DS-11 must be used if this is your first passport, if you are less than 16 years old or if your last one was issued over 15 years ago. Also, the new form must be used if yours was lost or stolen or if you have legally changed your name but can’t document that.

Time It Takes

The document should be completed but not signed. It should be brought to an acceptance agency and presented. You will get it within four to six weeks this way. If it is needed within two and four weeks, bring it to the agency and request expedited service. If needed in less than two weeks, you must bring it to a regional agent or place it online through an express expedited agent. Mailing it is not an option.

Questionnaire

There is a new biographical questionnaire that may be required of a small portion of the population. This is so difficult to complete that is has produced much furor. This asks things like every address you ever had, every job you ever had, names, addresses and phone numbers of all employers and supervisors. Your mother’s address for a whole year before your birth is also requested. This and other things requested may be very difficult to find.

The ides has been presented that the questionnaire is designed just to make it harder for some to get approval. Questions, it is claimed, bear little relation to the qualities needed. Some of the items may not even me available to the person. Things asked about the circumstances surrounding your birth may no longer be accessible. Even though it was your birth, you may not have any idea of the doctors and others that were in attendance.

Passport History

The requirement of possessing some documentation for travel is first accounted in the Hebrew Bible. In 450 B. C., Nehemiah asked for documentation and the king issued him a letter to be able to travel to Judea. During Medieval times in Europe, travelers had to present proof of having paid required taxes. These documents had to be presented to government officials in foreign countries.

Until the early 1900’s, pictures were not used. A written description of the document holder was given. The current procedures are far from what was required early. This is especially true for those requiring the biographical questionnaire. Older documents merely established that permission was being given for travel. Now it appears that there is more verification for worthiness to travel.

If planning for international travel, be prepared for the difficult associated with the new passport application form and the supplementary material required. Cost is another factor. It has increased recently. One needs to plan for and account for the time and expense required for meeting the expedited new passport qualification for travel.

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