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National Hand-Carry Procedures for Passport Applications and Completed Passports

The Department of State quietly removed the ONLY published set of rules and regulations regarding the Hand-Carry Passport Courier Program in 2023. Here is an archived copy of this document which has existed on the Department of State website for years. It’s not surprising as this program lacks ANY oversight regarding who owns these slots. In 2020, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the Department of State submitted a request for comment regarding the Hand Carry Passport Program – the public comments of which can be viewed here. It was expected at that time, long overdue changes were coming to program that in essence regulates the couriers, the passport courier slots,[…]

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What can go wrong when using a third party passport expediter?

In today’s fast-paced world, the convenience of third-party services can be incredibly appealing, especially when it comes to something as crucial as obtaining or renewing a passport. Passport expediters promise to streamline the application process, saving you time and stress. However, while these services can be beneficial, they also come with potential pitfalls. Understanding the risks involved can help you make an informed decision. 1. High Costs with No “REAL” Guarantee One of the most significant drawbacks of using a third-party passport expediter is the cost. These services are expensive, often charging several hundred dollars on top of the regular government fees. Despite the price tag, there is no[…]

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How foreign intelligence agencies could obtain massive amounts of valuable data by infiltrating passport and visa couriers and/or the Hand Carry Passport Courier Program

The following are my thoughts and is pure speculation on my part. There are companies with massive amounts of useful and actionable data that could be a treasure trove for foreign intelligence. After being in the passport & visa facilitation industry for about 8 years and doing a post-mortem on my time there, one of the things that I was most concerned about was the security of customers documents. Not specifically spies, but usually I was worried about potential identity theft problems. I always felt proper vetting of my employees, physically and digitally securing passport & visa applications, and digital logging and security of our database(s) was of the[…]

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Document Requests Pertaining to Research into Passport Courier Companies and the Hand Carry Courier Program

As this website is solely related to US Passports, the Passport Agency, and regulations and procedures encompassing this industry; and as an authority on the subject, I am doing a public interest story about the Department of State Hand Carry Program and government regulation of this industry. Some of what I am looking for can be obtained by FOIA but if anyone is willing to share in order to save me time that would be great: LOAs, any blank Letters of Authorization showing company names and addresses – I am looking to obtain a complete set for all Passport Offices. Any dated DS4283s with any and all customer information[…]

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New Waiver Allows Returning to the US With An Expired Passport Until March 31st 2022 – Conditions Apply

In a memo that was released on December 28, the US State Department stated that citizens that meet very specific criteria may return home before March 31, 2022, on expired passport. To be eligible to return to the US using an expired passport you must currently be abroad, and your passport expired after January 1, 2020. In addition to this, the current expired passport must be an original passport (10-year for adults or 5-year for children) no replacement passports, limited issuance passports or temporary passports are eligible for this limited waiver. The passport must be in generally good condition and unaltered in anyway and of course must be in[…]

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The Passport Renewal Process is Getting Simplified Thanks to a New Executive Order

Applying for or renewing a passport can be a frustrating and confusing process. The paperwork must be done in a very specific order, in some cases appointments must be made, you must have pictures taken and the list goes on. As with a lot of things, the pandemic has also pointed out flaws in our passport application process, leaving a 3-4 month back log of passports to be processed. The current processing time for passports is 8-11 weeks whereas pre pandemic it only took around 4-6 weeks. In an effort to alleviate the long wait times while also taking a leap into the 21st century, on December 13th, 2021[…]

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