I printed the paperwork and was working on the application part...which at the top states "Time of Burden: 85 minutes." The U.S. government has determined it may take approximately 85 minutes to collect any necessary documentation, photo, review paperwork and complete the application.
I have news for them...the Time of Burden when preparing an application and photo for a toddler is over twice their suggestion!!
J spent a good hour, trying to review past photo files for a pic that "could" be used...Strike One!
Then, we decided to take our own photo - this would be at least 90 minutes of sitting her in the bumbo with a white sheet behind her on the couch. The lighting was poor. Strike Two! So then we tried doing this on the stairwell with better light; meanwhile, bribing her with animal crackers!
So off we go to the Passport Services counter at our local governement building with our photo in hand of Miss L with a neutral expression, with a light background. The kind lady informed us that our sheet is a bit wrinkled and not really white and the photo would likely be rejected. Strike Three!
We are forced to pay the $9.99 for their staff to take a picture. I thought to myself "Alright, let's see THEM take a decent photo of this wiggle worm!" I'll show them.
They put her on a chair, put a white blanket behind her and on the first attempt - DONE! A nice, clean photo just what was needed. You have to be kidding me? We spent 3 hours trying to save $10!
For your own knowledge, passports for tiny people cost just as much as big people.
$80 for the passport + $25 to the county for a processing fee + $10 (optional) photo + $60 (optional) expediting fee
Thank GOODNESS she still flies for free and also will eat free for the week at this all-inclusive resort.
Also, she just got a cute cover-up sent her from one of her grandmas...which got all of us excited for vacay!!
Below is a photo of the little eskimo barbie this morning:
This is so timely for me! We just discovered that we'll be visiting family in Luxembourg this year and it occurred to me last night that we'd need to get a passport for my daughter. Have fun on your vacation!
ReplyDeleteWoohoo!! Tons of fun! You'll have to fill me in on where you're going. And be careful ... you know what kind of souvenirs we brought back from RM! ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks all! P.S. - tiny passports are only good for 5 years - kind of a bummer!
ReplyDeleteKel - good advice! LOL