U.S. Passports No Longer Issued Abroad
Posted Apr 19, 2002

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued a notification on April 2, 2002 regarding significant changes in the passport renewal process for U.S. citizens residing abroad. U.S. citizens residing abroad who are in need of a reissued passport, as of April 8, 2002 will be given a passport containing many new, state-of-the-art security features. The technology for producing these passports is not available at the U.S. Embassies and Consulates overseas. For this reason, requests will be handled through the National Passport Processing Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Note that applicants still need to apply at the embassy or consulate but the passport itself will be produced at the Center in New Hampshire. This new procedure will increase processing time for reissued passports. The security features are designed to reduce the risk of misuse by criminals, terrorists, and others fraudulently attempting to enter the U.S.

For urgent travel needs, the U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad will issue non-renewable, limited validity passports that must be exchanged for the state-of-the-art, fully digitized passport at the completion of the urgent travel. For those MurthyBulletin and MurthyDotCom readers who are or who will become U.S. citizens and have plans to travel abroad for extended periods, the best recommendation is to plan ahead and renew the passport as far in advance of its expiry date as is legally permissible.