15 September 2007

Just for looks

Did you know that the expiration date on your passport is inaccurate? As a matter of fact, for all intents and purposes, it expires 6 months prior to the "expiration date". It sounds a little silly, I know. But we have two confirmed situations that show this to be true. A friend of Karyn's was going to Israel for a week or so with a friend. They would not let her board the plane because her passport was going to expire two months from the date they were leaving. She (fortunately) was flying out of Boston's Logan airport. There are only three or four passport offices in the country that you can go to to get a passport on the spot. The ticket counter lady was able to confirm them on the next day's flight, so she immediately went down to the passport office to try to renew her passport. She spent the entire day there, begged, borrowed, and pleaded, not to mention that she spent an exorbitant amount of money. But, did get her passport renewed and was off with no further issue.
Last night we went out with a friend who had a few day business trip scheduled for Sweden. They would not let him go because his passport expires early next year. Frustrated, he came home and started the renewal process. Lo and behold this process takes up to six months, and to renew you have to mail them your passport. He said he felt like a hostage in his own country. He can't even go to Canada with no passport.
So, if you are planning a pleasure or business trip outside the country make sure to check your expiration date six months before you go!

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