We’ve seen them all, so check our list of these common mistakes and we hope to help many of you avoid them. Not Making a photocopy of your Passport When traveling abroad it’s best practice to make photocopies, scanned copies and/or take photos of your passport. Keep physical copies with you when you travel and send scanned copies or photos to your phone, email, or any other device you may travel with frequently. This extra step will help you if your passport is ever stolen or lost overseas, since bringing copies of your passport can help you acquire an emergency passport a bit easier at the US embassy or[…]

Convicted of a felony? The chances are if you are a convicted felon then you will have no issues when applying for a United States Passport. This, of course, pertains to those whom are not currently on parole, probation or considered a flight risk. There are very few and specific reasons that someone would be denied a passport upon their application. Even if you are denied you may reapply or revisit the matter at a later time (a suspended passport application is not yet a rejected application). A citizen would need to qualify for one of several situations in order to be denied their passport application. The most common[…]

Imagine a worst-case scenario: you’re in a foreign country and disaster suddenly strikes. Like the Bastille Day attack in Nice earlier this summer, or the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, two catastrophes that majorly affected U.S. citizens travelling abroad. It’s difficult to plan for these kinds of situations, or even to believe they’ll ever happen to you. Harder still can be knowing what to do if you do find yourself in trouble outside of U.S. borders. Fortunately, there’s an app for that. The U.S. State Department offers a free service called the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, or STEP, that allows U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to register with the[…]