There is a new passport application form, titled DS-11. It requests different information than what was required before. Depending on your circumstances,it may be required to submit an additional biographical questionnaire that is nearly impossible to complete because of the unusual information it requires about life circumstances from birth on. One question even asks for where you mother lived prior to your birth.

Age Requirements

There are a number of reasons the new form must be used. If you are getting your first one, if you are under sixteen, if yours was lost, stolen or issued over fifteen years ago or if you have changed your name and don’t have legal documentation, you must use this new form.

Time It Takes

The document should be completed but not signed. It should be brought to an acceptance agency and presented. You will get it within four to six weeks this way. If it is needed within two and four weeks, bring it to the agency and request expedited service. If needed in less than two weeks, you must bring it to a regional agent or place it online through an express expedited agent. Mailing it is not an option.

Questionnaire

There is a new biographical questionnaire that a small part of the population may be required to submit. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to complete. Examples of some information required include all your addresses since birth, total employment history from the very first job including the names of all employers and supervisors. The addresses and phone numbers must also be included for these employers. The address of your mother before you birth should also be included. This and other information that is hard or impossible to find are required in ordered to obtain the passport.

The argument has been made by some that this questionnaire seems to be designed to prevent the ability of a person to get approved. It is argued that the questions have little relation to qualification. Some might even be impossible to obtain, such as the one that asks you to name everyone that was present at your birth. You were definitely there but you might not be able to obtain names of all present, such as doctors, nurses, etc.

Passport History

It has long been a practice to require something to allow one to travel. In the Hebrew Bible, it was recorded that Nehemiah in 450 B. C. requested a letter from the king allowing him to travel in Judea. In Europe during Medieval times, travelers had to show a receipt proving they had paid their taxes before entering another country.

It was not until the early 1900′s that pictures began to be attached. Older documents only had short descriptions of the holder. This is a long way from the current one, especially if the biographic questionnaire is required. The older ones merely verified that you had permission to travel. The new form is more of a recommendation for travel, a sort of statement of integrity.

If planning for international travel, be prepared for the difficult associated with the new USA passport application form and the supplementary material required. Cost is another factor. It has increased recently. One needs to plan for and account for the time and expense required for meeting this expedited new pass port qualification for travel.