Passport Name Change—What You Need To Know
You are very excited to receive your very own passport for the first time when suddenly, you take notice of something very crucial. Your name has been misspelled, and you completely drain yourself in a surge of panic because your dreams of traveling will be delayed, yet again.
However, do not fret. A passport name change does not need to be a tedious task for you. Once that you know the basics on what to do once you have spotted that your passport has an error, the process that you have to undergo in does not necessarily have to be long and grueling. Mistakes do happen, and the only thing that you need to do to be aware of these errors at once is to check your documents the first time you receive them.
First, you have to know what kind of correction or change is needed, because there are different forms to be used for different types of corrections. There are also fees which are needed to be paid when you are availing of different types of corrections regarding your passports.
When a spelling error occurs in your name, or an error has occurred in your birth date in printing, you have to fill up a Form DS-5504, or the Passport Re-Application Form. You will not be charged when you will avail of this procedure. It is a must that you submit the form and the valid passport with your birth certificate and two identical passport size photos. The birth certificate will be used as the basis for the correction of your name or date of birth. When you want to reflect a name change that has occurred (that is, in most cases, if you were married, and would want to reflect the new surname in the passport), you also need to submit Form DS-5504 along with the passport which needs to be replaced. Using DS-5504 requires your passport to be issued in a span of one year. On the other hand, if your passport is valid, but it has been issued for more than a year, you should secure a Form 8S-82, which is an Application of Passport by Mail. In any of these instances of course, you also need to submit an acceptable evidence of passport name change. Documents such as marriage, divorce or adoption decrees are accepted. It is very important for a person to check once and for all if there are necessary passport name changes. There are some unavoidable instances wherein there are errors in printing, and a person needs to check all of the documents that have been submitted to him at once. In most cases, there are name changes due to a change in surname when one gets married, or on the other hand, when one gets a divorce. At any rate, one should still be aware that he gets his passports in good condition the first time, so as to avoid any delays regarding your travel.
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