Bucktown Visas & Passports, Inc.

1. 2 copies of each applicant's travel itinerary or a company letter with your itinerary on it, showing your dates of travel and your destination on company letterhead and signed by someone other than the applicant
   
2. 2 copies of Bucktown Visas & Passports Letter of Authorization.  The signature on these authorization letters must match the signature on your passport application.

NOTE: Passports applications must be filled out online and then printed out.

*To make it easier to follow, you may want to print out this page and then check each item off the list as you compile your documents.

Whomever is applying for a new United States passport must appear in person at a proper authorized government acceptance agent. You must also submit all of the following documents to that authorized government acceptance agent, which are located at most local US post offices across the country or your local county clerk's office:

• Proof of US Citizenship (submit one of the following 3 documents):
• 1) Your original certified official US birth certificate, which must include your given name and surname, date and place of birth, date the birth record was filed, and the seal or other certification of the official custodian of such records.  No photocopies are accepted!
• 2) Your expired US passport.
• 3) Your original US naturalization certificate.

• Proof of identification (submit a clear copy of one of the following 3 photo ID's):
  
• 1) Your valid state-issued driver's license or identification card.
• 2) Your valid military ID with a photo.
• 3) Your valid government ID with a photo.

• 1 passport photos, 2 x 2 inches in size, with a full, front view of your face, on a light or white background
• Effective immediately photos with persons wearing eyewear will be rejected.
• Sorry, no digital photos allowed!
• You can have it taken at a Walgreen's drugstore or a CVS Pharmacy.  Do not staple the photo to any form.

• A completed DS-11 government form: New Passport Application (click here to print out a DS-11).  You must fill out the application online and then print it out.
• Do not sign the DS-11 application until you are in front of the agent at the post office or county clerk.
• Include all pages of form DS-11.
• You must fill out the application online and then print it out and sign it.
• For all minors under age 16, each minor child must appear in person.  Both parents or legal guardians must present evidence of identity when they apply for a minor under the age of 16.  Click here to read more information on proof of identity for minors under the age of 16.   
• NOTE: If both parents cannot make a personal appearance with their minor child, one parent must fill out a Consent Form for Minors (in addition to the DS-11 application above) and both parents must sign it.  Click here to print out a Consent Form for Minors or go to our "Consent Form for Minors" button on our menu.  You can fill out the form online and then print it out and sign it.
• For minors ages 16 and 17: Each minor child must appear in person.  For security reasons, parental consent may be requested.  If your child does not have identification of his/her own, you need to accompany your child, present identification, and co-sign the application.

• 2 Bucktown Visas & Passports Letters of Authorization, both filled out completely and signed.  NOTE: Your signatures on these letters of authorization must match your signature on your passport application.
• Click here to print out our "Letter of Authorization" or go to the "Letter of Authorization" button located on our menu.  **Remember, you will need 2 of them, one for the post office clerk and an extra one for Bucktown Visas & Passports, Inc.**
• The Letter of Authorization simply states that you are authorizing us to hand carry your documents to the passport agency and also to have us pick up your completed passport and send it to you.

• 2 proofs of travel departure date (include one of the following):
• 1) **Print out 2 copies of your travel itinerary, one for the post office clerk and one for Bucktown Visas & Passports, Inc.**
• 2) 2 copies of a company letter of expedite, which must include your dates of travel and your travel destination.  It must be signed by someone other than the applicant.  It must also have company's letterhead on it.

• Government fee of $190.00 (For children the fee is $160.00)
• Write a check payable to "U.S. Department of State" for the amount of $190.00  They accept personal checks, money orders, and cashiers' checks.  A child's passport is $160.00.  NOTE: If they tell you that the fee is less than $190.00 or $170.00, you must tell them that you need your passport expedited and wish to pay the expedited fee of $190.00 and/or $170.00.

• You will also need to pay a separate execution fee, per person, of $35.00
• This goes to your local post office or county clerk's office. (NOTE: They may not accept credit cards.  Please check with them.) 

**By law, both of the above government fees are nonrefundable.**

• Bucktown Visas & Passports Order Form, filled out completely
• Click here to print out our Order Form, or go to the "Visa/Passport Order Form" button on our menu button to print one out.  It has all of our expediting and return shipping fees on it, which are in addition to your government and execution fees.

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Present the following items to the acceptance agent (post office or county clerk) in your local area:

1)  Proof of US Citizenship
2)  Proof of identification
3)  1 passport photo (Photos with persons wearing eyewear will be rejected, effective November 1, 2016.)
4)  DS-11 Passport Application (Do not sign the form until the agent instructs you to do so.)  Also, the application must be filled out online and then printed out. 
5)  A check for $190.00, payable to "U.S. Department of State" ($160.00 for children)
6)  A check for $35.00, which is the post office's or county clerk's execution fee (same fee for adults and children)
7)  2 copies of proof of travel departure (1 copy for the post office clerk, one extra one to send to us)
8)  2 Bucktown Letters of Authorization (1 copy for the post office clerk, one extra one to send to us) The signatures on these letters must match the signature on the passport application
9)  Bucktown Visas & Passports Order Form
10) Bucktown Visas & Passports expediting and return shipping fees, which are listed on our Order Form and are in addition to your government fees

                                                              
 Please read these two paragraphs completely:

You will then be sworn in by the agent and asked to sign your DS-11 application in front of the agent. The agent will then seal the documents in a government envelope. DO NOT OPEN the sealed envelope. If you do, you will have to repeat this whole process all over again. The sealed envelope will be given directly to you to send to Bucktown Visas & Passports, Inc. because you have our Letter of Authorization allowing us to handcarry your documents to the passport agency for you.  DO NOT let the post office keep and mail that sealed envelope for you.  You need to get the sealed envelope back in order to have your documents processed as quickly as possible directly through us.  Put the sealed envelope inside of your FedEx shipping envelope that you are shipping to Bucktown Visas & Passports, Inc.

The sealed government envelope, your Bucktown order form, your Bucktown expediting and shipping fees (located on our order form; they are in addition to your government fees), your extra Bucktown letter of authorization on which the signature must match your passport application, and your extra proof of travel departure date all go inside of the FedEx shipping envelope. NOTE: In case the acceptance agent forgets to put our letter of authorization and your proof of travel departure inside of the sealed government envelope, you should still have an extra copy of each one to clip outside of the sealed envelope and then ship it to us.  We are not authorized to open the sealed envelope; only the passport agency can do that.  Therefore, we do not know if everything is in the sealed envelope.  This is a precautionary measure we follow to save you from major delays in having your documents processed.

FedEx your shipping envelope with all of your documents inside of it to Bucktown Visas & Passports, Inc. at our address that's located on the top of our order form, and you're ready to go! It's that simple!

We will notify you by email when we receive your documents and again by email when we ship your completed passport out to you.

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