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The place of Adventure, Travel to East Africa: Djibouti,
India, Madagascar, Zanzibar, Kenya, Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus and Disneyland.
Now adding Hong Kong, China, Korea, Japan and Disneyland. Mexico and
Disneyland.
Disaster, Earthquake and Emergency Preparedness and Services for San Francisco.
We also like Disneyland. |
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Why Have A Current Passport?
(These comments apply to a U.S. Passport and are probably applicable in many ways to other Countries as well). A passport is your very best identity document. Issued by the Federal government after a careful examination of who you say and document you are, a passport says, in essence, "This government warrants that this person is whom they purport to be. They are a citizen of our nation, he or she is one of us and we will afford them the same protection as any other citizen of our nation". Think about this for a moment. This is the ultimate naturalization document. With a Passport in your possession, nobody can say you aren't a citizen of your country. You have been positively identified and accepted officially. Without a passport, you are only guessing. What about my Birth Certificate or Driver's License? Both are fine at what they do. Birth Certificates document a birth, usually a live one, as attested by the County or District where the event occurred. A Driver's License is a permit to operate a motor vehicle, recognized throughout the Country and is usually accepted as a document of identity (the details of which are usually secret because of privacy considerations) as attested by the State in which you live. None of these are the Federal Government accepting you as a full citizen. Full Naturalization papers are fine as well, as the welcome newcomers who have earned the right to become full citizens, renouncing their allegiance to any other nation. None of these documents allow you to leave and enter this and other countries pretty much as you will, with proper respect for visa requirements. You mean, I can't leave the country without a Passport? No, not at all. As far as I know you can leave the U.S. any time you please, unless you are a fugitive on the lam. If you're a fugitive, go ahead and leave as far as I'm concerned. The government has other plans for you, however. The trick is in finding a country that will take you in. Entering other countries is usually made possible by having a passport (and usually a visa). Some Countries - like Canada and Mexico - permit travel with a birth certificate and a driver's license, but passage is speeded with a passport. It makes sense: If the immigration and customs authorities already know who you are - by their file on you via a passport - you can come right back in to the U.S. If they don't, they may stop to figure out who you really are. What's a Visa? Or, Why do I Need Another Visa? My Bank Gave Me A Gold One..... A VISA is another Country's permission for you to enter. It's an entrance pass. Before you travel to another country, it's important to find out what their visa requirements are! India, for example, requires you to present your passport to an embassy, pay a fee, leave your passport for a few hours, and come back to get your passport and visa. Your visa is merely a stamp in the passport, allowing you to enter one or more times, within a certain period of time. India is interesting in that their visas state that you may not enter government or restricted areas. Such areas aren't defined! Those adventures are another story! How Do I Get A Passport? You can make your way to a passport office, but be prepared to wait - and wait -and wait. A better way is to see if your local post office is a "passport application office". San Francisco City Hall is also one. Seek, and you will find. You need 2 passport photos, plenty of ID - usually a Driver's License and birth certificate will suffice (but it won't hurt to have a charge card, utility bill, or other identification on hand), a check for the fees (Just under $100), and an ability to fill out the forms. Fill out the forms and anything asked for. You'll get your passport in about 2 months. Warning!!!!! DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GET A FAKE OR FALSE PASSPORT! WHILE I CAN'T THINK OF A REASON WHY SOMEONE WOULD WANT TO DO SO, APPARENTLY SOME DO. IN ONE CASE I KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT, ONE MAN TRIED IT. THE FBI SHOWED UP AT HIS DOOR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND TOOK HIM AWAY. BY THE TIME IT WAS ALL OVER, HE LOST HIS JOB, ALL HIS PROFESSIONAL LICENSES, HIS HOUSE, MARRIAGE AND KIDS. I DON'T KNOW IF HE WENT TO JAIL OR NOT. Disclaimer: Bill is not qualified to give anyone any advice about anything. Take the information as a guide!
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