I feel as if I officially hit countdown mode for our trip to Japan in the spring and realized all that we have left to do for it! Not only do we still have some accommodations to book, but I woke up at 4am and realized we’re getting close to crunch time as far as getting our newborn’s passport. Unfortunately, it’s not necessarily something I can move on immediately, seeing as she hasn’t been born yet…
That being said, we are definitely preparing as best as we can to ensure she has her passport in hand (or more likely, one of our hands) come time for our trip. Here’s what we’ve got planned:
- We have an appointment scheduled. This was something we did with our son when getting his passport because children under the age of 16 are required to apply for their passport in person, with both parents present. I booked an appointment through a nearby USPS for 3 weeks after our induction date, at which point I expect we’ll have her birth certificate back – essentially, the core document to get her passport. In the event we get this back sooner than expected, I’ll probably try to bump up the appointment.
- We have photos scheduled – at the same appointment! Considering we’re in a time crunch, I want to make sure we’re using a service that will get us the photos we need. Generally, photo guidelines around newborns are much more lenient, but we figured it was worth the additional $15 to nor have to worry about it. I imagine we’ll put a white sheet in her car seat, as this has been recommended for newborns. Otherwise, we may try laying her down on a white background and taking the photo from above.
- We’re expediting her passport application. As of writing, processing times for routine passport applications are 7-10 weeks, and expedited applications are 3-5 weeks. We should have about eight weeks between her passport appointment and our trip, but we’re not taking any chances with timing. This page from the US Department of State offers great insight into the different options for getting your passport fast. It’s helpful to know that “urgent travel” is an option, in the event her documentation is delayed.
We will probably also submit her application for Global Entry ahead of our trip for conditional approval so that she can interview for arrival upon our return – or maybe we’ll see about snagging an interview quickly ahead of time!