A BIG Sigh of Relief
You might have thought that my last post would have been the big sigh of relief since a solution to our traveling dilemma had been solved.....OH, if only that had been true. Yes, it was true that the U.S. Government had relaxed their rules for letting U.S. citizens back into the country. But that wasn't going to help us get out of the country. Our disembarkation point is Vancouver, B.C. and well, the Canadian government hasn't relaxed their rules. It's simple...you must have a U.S. Passport or a photo id, proof you applied for a passport and a certified copy of your birth certificate. If you've ever applied for a passport, you know that you submit your certified birth certificate with your application and in theory, you get it back when you get your passport. And how many certified copies of your birth certificate do you happen to have on hand?
Getting my birth certificate wasn't an issue....I live one county over from where I was born. It took me longer to find a parking space than it did to get through security, request my birth certificate, pay for it, get and return to my car. Not so easy for the hubby as he was not born one county over....he was born in New York. By NY state law, I am not actually allowed to request his birth certificate without a court order. To keep only one of us in panic mode, I enlisted the help of his mother who is entitled to a copy. She lives here, but thanks to the internet, we found a place online where she could order it....with delivery in 5 to 10 business days...with the clock ticking once the file was transmitted to the NY bureau who handles the request....(they tell you after the fact that the clock doesn't start ticking when you place the order). Worst case scenario, it would be due to arrive the day that we were due to leave. Now, doesn't that sound very good does it?
On the other front, I called the National Passport Agency to see about hurrying up the passports (kicking myself, again, for not paying that rush fee in the beginning). The first day that they would talk to me was this past Monday....something to do with how far behind they are that they are only dealing with people traveling within 14 days (Saturday is for traveling in 7 days only). I listened to 10 minutes of messages, then held for another 10 or 15 minutes and then thought that I had been disconnected when the hold music stopped. But I didn't get a dial tone or busy signal, so I kept holding until someone came on the line. I imagine that they are taking a lot of crap, but I got a really nice lady and was very nice in return...no use in pissing off someone who can help you now is there. Besides, she isn't personally responsible for this whole mess. I was ready to pay the rush fee, but wasn't required to do so since we'd been waiting so long. She put a "rush" on it and made note that we needed them by the 28th, but it wasn't exactly a promise.
In the meantime, my ability to sleep was on the fritz and I was doing a lot of tossing and turning, worrying and fretting. So this is what it's like to have a nervous breakdown? I checked the passport site regularly in hopes that they would show shipped as well as the website for the status of the birth certificate. This AM, after a fitfull night, I checked the status of the birth certificate and (insert scream of joy & thanks) it shipped yesterday. It was delivered to my mum-in-laws this morning and has since been delivered to us. So now, we really can travel...we are legal to get into Canada and to get back into the U.S. Now, I can let out a BIG sigh of relief and get a good nights sleep!
Getting my birth certificate wasn't an issue....I live one county over from where I was born. It took me longer to find a parking space than it did to get through security, request my birth certificate, pay for it, get and return to my car. Not so easy for the hubby as he was not born one county over....he was born in New York. By NY state law, I am not actually allowed to request his birth certificate without a court order. To keep only one of us in panic mode, I enlisted the help of his mother who is entitled to a copy. She lives here, but thanks to the internet, we found a place online where she could order it....with delivery in 5 to 10 business days...with the clock ticking once the file was transmitted to the NY bureau who handles the request....(they tell you after the fact that the clock doesn't start ticking when you place the order). Worst case scenario, it would be due to arrive the day that we were due to leave. Now, doesn't that sound very good does it?
On the other front, I called the National Passport Agency to see about hurrying up the passports (kicking myself, again, for not paying that rush fee in the beginning). The first day that they would talk to me was this past Monday....something to do with how far behind they are that they are only dealing with people traveling within 14 days (Saturday is for traveling in 7 days only). I listened to 10 minutes of messages, then held for another 10 or 15 minutes and then thought that I had been disconnected when the hold music stopped. But I didn't get a dial tone or busy signal, so I kept holding until someone came on the line. I imagine that they are taking a lot of crap, but I got a really nice lady and was very nice in return...no use in pissing off someone who can help you now is there. Besides, she isn't personally responsible for this whole mess. I was ready to pay the rush fee, but wasn't required to do so since we'd been waiting so long. She put a "rush" on it and made note that we needed them by the 28th, but it wasn't exactly a promise.
In the meantime, my ability to sleep was on the fritz and I was doing a lot of tossing and turning, worrying and fretting. So this is what it's like to have a nervous breakdown? I checked the passport site regularly in hopes that they would show shipped as well as the website for the status of the birth certificate. This AM, after a fitfull night, I checked the status of the birth certificate and (insert scream of joy & thanks) it shipped yesterday. It was delivered to my mum-in-laws this morning and has since been delivered to us. So now, we really can travel...we are legal to get into Canada and to get back into the U.S. Now, I can let out a BIG sigh of relief and get a good nights sleep!
posted by Hope at 7:58 PM
3 Comments:
It's always best to listen to that little voice, eh? I felt the same rush of joy when my daughter's passport was rushed through after the fact. And yes, I had to pay the rush fee for this to happen.
Happy trails to you and your hubby,
Enid from Belize City
belizegial: I wish I had just paid the rush fee in the beginning...it would have been well worth it! Yes....the little voice usually knows best!
Hi Hope
And the whole time you will be saying to yourself "wait a minute this is my country, let me back in damn it". We went to Mexico and it took 15 minutes to get in (past all the Mexican army guys with M16's all over the airport) but coming back into the states took hours. I liked Mexico's entry though, you carry your bag up and push a button, if the light turns green you have a good day, if it turns red you have a bad day. A little unnerving wondering if you accidentally brought something in illegal... but quick... In the US it's long lines waiting to talk to someone who really doesn't seem to care (one fellow asked my wife where she was from, she said Michigan, and he said today we're having a special on people from Michigan, go right on in). I hope you have a great honeymoon...
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