Don’t Smile For the Camera!

Passport Applications, Pictures In A ‘Flash’ in Gaylordsville on Jan. 19

It’s an old joke: If you look as bad as your passport picture, you need a vacation. Post Offices across the area will put in extra hours this Saturday to get you gone.

The Gaylordsville Post Office can help get you on your way during a special passport program slated for Saturday, Jan. 19, from 8 am until 3 pm. The Post Office, located at 3 George Washington Plaza #8, will provide its passport-only service area in the lobby.

According to the Postal Service, there are several important items needed for a passport application. These include:

• Provide a completed application for a passport

The Manchester Post Office has passport forms in stock. You can also download passport forms from usps.com or the State Department's web site.

• Present Proof of US Citizenship

In many cases, applicants fill this requirement by supplying a certified birth certificate with a registrar's raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored seal. Others may need to obtain a consular report of birth abroad or a naturalization certificate. A previous US passport in altered or damaged condition may not be accepted.

• Present Proof of Identity

Prove your identity with many different items, including a previous U.S. passport, a Naturalization Certificate, a valid Driver's license, a city, state or federal Government ID or Military ID issued to military personnel and their dependents.

• Supply Two Passport Photos, in compliance with state department requirements.

Postal officials note that passport cameras will be on site during this special passport promotion. But qualified photos from other sources are acceptable if they meet State Department requirements.

• Pay the Applicable Fee

Applicants pay the application processing fee to the “U.S. Department of State” and the execution fee to the facility where you are applying. Applicants age 16 and over pay a passport fee of $67 and an execution fee of $30. Applicants under 16 pay $52 for a passport and $30 for execution fees. Expedited passport processing is provided at an extra cost.

In addition to cash, checks and money orders, execution fees at Post Offices may be paid by credit card.

• And, in accordance with federal regulations, applicants must provide a Social Security Number.

Currently, it takes approximately four to six weeks for the State Department to finalize a passport application upon receipt. Expedited service can take about half that time but for an additional charge.

Tracking service for passport applications, available through the State Department web site, is typically available within seven to 10 days after the application is logged into that agency.

Why do passport pictures look like that?

A passport application requires two identical, full-color photos and, according to local postal officials, the standards for those photos can be quite exacting.

Photos, which must measure precisely 2 inches by two inches, cannot be older than six months.

Training materials for passport photos state that the applicant should be in normal street attire, without hat or dark glasses against a plain white background. The applicant should have “a natural expression, mouth closed, eyes open and looking directly ahead,” notes the State Department, the issuing agency for US Passports.

SOURCE: Composition Checklist for Professional Photographers, US Dept. of State

The Department is very specific about the position of the head in photo: Centered in each picture, the applicant’s head should be approximately one to 1-3/8 inches of the two-inch space, filling about 50 percent of the area of the photo. No tilting, no turns, and no toothy grins.

Eyeglasses worn on a daily basis cannot be obscured with reflections from the eyeglasses that obscure the eyes. Dark glasses or nonprescription glasses with tinted lenses are not acceptable unless documented or medical needs.

Unless worn daily for religious reasons, all hats or headgear should be removed for the photo. A signed statement from the applicant must be submitted with the application verifying the item is worn daily for religious reasons. In all cases, no item or attire should cover or obscure any part of the face.

Glamour shots or retouched pictures are not accepted. And, happily for most of us, neither is a copy of our driver’s license picture.

Please Note: For a preview of Passport information, including forms, available at www.usps.com, click here: Passport information at www.usps.com

To review Passport information, including photographic requirements for professional photographers and acceptance agents from the Department of State, click here: Department of State Passport link