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#11
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WashPost: Canadians Fear Fallout Of U.S. Passport Rules
Rudy wrote:
Why should it take 6 months or more to get a passport? I applied by mail last Summer and got it back in about 5 weeks If the government is going to require more people to get them, it should be prepared to handle them. "People" shouldn't wait til the 'last minute' Is 6 months = "last minute"? There have been reports of people waiting 6 months or longer. |
#12
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WashPost: Canadians Fear Fallout Of U.S. Passport Rules
On Jun 17, 7:04 pm, (John L) wrote:
Too bad the people not thinking ahead are in the passport office. They're completely swamped by the completely predictable flood of applications. I would not be surprised if there were lots of memos from FSOs begging for more staff in anticipation of this increased demand for passports. After all, they should know the number entering without passports, so it would be trivial to make a pretty good estimate. Given the track record of this adminstration, these career employees were probably encouraged by the political appointees to take early retirement for attempting to provide competent service to the public. Some enterprising reporter should submit a FOIA request (after all, revealing this can only be embarassing, but it cannot possibly compromise national security). Georgie Porgie, once agin', you're doin' a heckuva jub. |
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WashPost: Canadians Fear Fallout Of U.S. Passport Rules
Sleepyguy wrote: On 13 Jan 2007 22:27:36 -0800, wrote: Canadians Fear Fallout Of U.S. Passport Rules By Doug Struck Yeah, and how long have we known that these new passport rules would come into existance. People just don't think ahead. Actually, right now, I have no confidence that I know when the rules for requiring a passport for surface transit from Canada will come into effect. I know when the idiots in Washington have said they will come into effect but they have changed their minds so often that they have no real credibility. Do you think you know when the various rules will come into effect? |
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WashPost: Canadians Fear Fallout Of U.S. Passport Rules
Rudy wrote: Why should it take 6 months or more to get a passport? I applied by mail last Summer and got it back in about 5 weeks If the government is going to require more people to get them, it should be prepared to handle them. "People" shouldn't wait til the 'last minute' The government used to say that 3 weeks was the 'last minute'. What is supposed to be the last minute? 3 years perhaps? |
#15
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WashPost: Canadians Fear Fallout Of U.S. Passport Rules
"Rudy" wrote:
Why should it take 6 months or more to get a passport? I applied by mail last Summer and got it back in about 5 weeks If the government is going to require more people to get them, it should be prepared to handle them. "People" shouldn't wait til the 'last minute' "Last minute"? People sure have been beaten down to remarkably low expectations. The last time I went with someone to renew their passport in the Netherlands, it was ready the next morning, and that was the normal service in a small town. Here in Malaysia it's while-you-wait, like getting your brakes checked. And the passports here are more advanced than those in the US. miguel -- Hit the road! Photos from around the world: http://travel.u.nu Detailed airport information: http://airport.u.nu |
#16
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WashPost: Canadians Fear Fallout Of U.S. Passport Rules
"Rudy" wrote:
Why should it take 6 months or more to get a passport? I applied by mail last Summer and got it back in about 5 weeks Five weeks? You really consider that fast? If Visa and Mastercard can issue me a credit card with a high credit limit the same day, why can't the passport agencies do the same? What kind of checks do they make that take so long? Everything they need should be accessible using computers, with only minor exceptions. The agency also says that the processing time is now up to 10 to 12 weeks with normal service, but have admitted that there are 500,000 applications that have been in the system for longer than 12 weeks. If the government is going to require more people to get them, it should be prepared to handle them. "People" shouldn't wait til the 'last minute' Last minute? Do you always plan all of your trips out of the country more than 4 months ahead? The agency used to say that you could get a passport within two or three weeks. If you based your planning on that promise, then waited 3 months for your passport, wouldn't you be a bit peeved? They've had to refund the expedite fee to a number of people because they couldn't even meet the two week target for people who spent the extra $60. I had to renew my passport a few months ago, and was worried that I wouldn't have a passport to travel while the surge in demand was peaking. I paid the higher fee, and got it back in two weeks. However, in the meantime, I didn't make any plans for trips for two months, just in case. It's ridiculous to have to pay an extra fee for what should be normal service, and ridiculous that the service isn't far faster than it is for something that is essential to travel. It is obvious that the agency didn't have a plan to handle the surge in applications, even though it was obvious it would come with the new passport rules. To add insult, you also have to send your birth certificate in with the passport, so you can't even use that for trips to Canada or Mexico in the meantime, unless you happen to have to official copies. |
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WashPost: Canadians Fear Fallout Of U.S. Passport Rules
On Jun 18, 3:13 pm, James Robinson wrote:
They've had to refund the expedite fee to a number of people because they couldn't even meet the two week target for people who spent the extra $60. More correctly, they have offered to refund the money for expedited service only after they receive the proper froms requesting the refund (do those forms even exist yet?). They will not automatically issue refunds, and they will certainly not compensate anyone for cancelled trips. Given the proven quality of their service, I would bet that the first of these refunds will not be received until 2008, and probably not until 2009. |
#18
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WashPost: Canadians Fear Fallout Of U.S. Passport Rules
On Jun 17, 7:04 pm, (John L) wrote:
Too bad the people not thinking ahead are in the passport office. They're completely swamped by the completely predictable flood of applications. There is an article about fixing the "passport debacle" on the opinion page of today's (June 26) San Jose Mercury News (not yet available on the web site). Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-Calif 14) writes: "The Government Accountability Office raised concerns last year about passport-processing capacity, and the administration responded by assuring Congress that they would be ready." ..... "The question now is: Will the administration actually learn from its mistake?" This question is easy to answer. This administration has publicly stated that it talks to God. It has proven that it will never admit to having made a mistake. It has nothing to learn from mere mortals. |
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WashPost: Canadians Fear Fallout Of U.S. Passport Rules
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