One of the empty pages in my passport has corner that is torn. I have the torn piece as well. I went to apply for a South African visa and was told that that makes the passport damaged and not usable. The problem is I travel to the US in the next three weeks. Is it considered "damaged by the US as well for a torn part of one of the empty pages in the passport? Do I need to apply for a new passport because of this? Please advise.Thank you
121590
Around two years ago I washed and dried my passport by mistake at the laundry room. My ID, my old US student visa and my stamps from european countries are still readable but the pages are not "flat" anymore and the front cover is kind of erasing (some parts of the Brazil symbol is gone).   In April I'll travel to US for a conference, I'll need to get a new US visa (B1/tourism visa) but I'm worried if my passport is not "good to go" anymore because it was "washed and dried". Apparently there is an electronic chip in it and I don't know if it is still working.  Should I get a new passport or can I save some money and time and use this one? It expires only in 2019.
117342
I'm hoping someone may able to answer my question...  I am a dual citizen of US and Canada. I was born in the states but grew up in Canada and like alot of other dual citizens, I hold both Canadian and US passports. I have never lived in the states so I dont have the social security number and other documentations beside my birth certificate and my passport. (The officials in US consulate in Toronto never says its a problem without another US documentations when they know I never live in US)  My US passport has expired in April and I have since tried to make an appointment with the US consulate in Toronto, but the earliest appointment available at the time of booking was June 4th. Here's the problem ... I'm flying to Vegas on Monday and I am now worried if I will be denied entry into the USA with an expired US passport... I know I have to present my US passport at point of entry and cannot use my Canadian passport (which I have used for my last month trip to Asia).  Will the custom deny my entry ? I'm planning to print out my appointment page and present to the officer as well and was planning to go renew my passport in Nevada if i have to... just wonder if someone has similar experience
44693
Last night I took a night train from Romania to Hungary. I shared a compartment with another American backpacker (and others.) The border crossing on the Romanian side was normal -- all of our passports were stamped and the border officer recorded our data in his notepad. On the Hungarian side, some sort of commotion broke out further down the train car while we were being processed. The officer who was scanning and stamping our passports left and never came back. As a result, the other American backpacker never had her passport scanned or stamped.  What sort of difficulties might she run into since her passport has not been recorded as entering the schengen zone, nor does she have an extra stamp? What might get options be now, from within Schengen, to get her entrance recorded?  (When I say "scanned", the officers had hand-held devices that read the passport biometrics and I assume, recorded some sort of data somewhere.)
29635
I am a British resident and applying for Schengen visa to France. I am preparing my documents for application and as stated they require old passports and previous issued Schengen visa. However I realised I have lost my old expired passport which has my 3 previous (expired) Schengen Visas issued in the past 3 years.   Can I still apply in this case? Will I get rejected?
91370
I am writing because I have a question regarding my ESTA application and because I could not find a similar case online that would help me at this stage. I have never been to the U.S. so this would be my first visit.    I am a German citizen, hence eligible for the Waiver Program. I applied for an ESTA in June 2014 and got approved. After further research on the Internet I learned that the passport should be valid until 6 months after the planned return date. My passport was due to run out in Feb 2015 - which still should have been fine but because I didn't want to take chances I applied for a new passport which was issued August 2014 and is now valid until August 2024. My passport number has been changed also.    After I received my new passport I was advised by a friend to apply for a B-1/B-2 visa as it would allow me to extend my stay and it seemed like a good idea at first. On the day of my interview I also applied for a new ESTA with my new passport number (just in case) which again was granted.   Unfortunately for me the interview for the B-1/B-2 visa was unsuccessful and I got rejected. I was not aware then that after a rejected interview one could not travel with ESTA, otherwise I would have never risked it!  Now I am very concerned, can I still use my ESTA and enter the U.S.? as I read everywhere that once you get rejected the chances of getting through are very slim and any visa rejection will result in not being able to use the waiver program.  It might be important to note that both the B-1/B-2 interview and the waiver application were on the same day, 21st of August 2014, so depending on how one might look at it that might present a problem too I suppose.  I guess the frustration lies in the fact that I did not need to apply for a B-1/B-2 visa to begin with, and had I not I would now not have these problems. I would like to know how likely it is that I can still travel under the waiver program, if at all, and what my options are at this point.
76535
My biometric passport inadvertently spent some time under the rain. It's not badly damaged but some sheets are a bit deformed and there are tiny brown spots on the side. I am wondering if there is an easy way for me to determine if the chip is still working. If it does not, can I still use the passport? Which countries require a biometric passport or actually use the data?  Also, how much of a problem can a lightly damaged/worn out passport be? Is it more likely to be an issue in some countries than others?  PS: Right now, I am preparing for a possible trip to the US and since there is still time, I will most likely ask for a (costly, turned out requesting a new one was free, for some reason) new passport just in case but I would be curious to know if that's really necessary or about potential issues in other countries as well. The passport in question is still valid for more than three years, still has many free pages and was issued by a EU country whose citizens are eligible for the visa waiver program.
45788
I chanced on an  today, featuring a guy who likes to draw artwork into passports. The article claims that the passports still work without an issue.  Now I am pretty sure my passport says something like 'no manual annotations can be made without rendering it invalid', so I am a little sceptical about that article.  Has anyone experience on how drawing into one's passport effects its validity and how much that is enforced?
99604
I am planning to visit London for 6 days from the US. I have given my biometrics and when I was preparing to mail my documents to the UK visa processing center in the US, I used this link from the UK government website to cross-check the documents to be sent to the processing center.     (Guide to supporting documents).  Something that really surprised me was in Section 4 (documents that should NOT be sent along with the package) was hotel bookings and flights bookings.     Section 4: documents you should not send unless specifically requested      This page provides guidance on the types of documents that are not required to consider your application.         hotel bookings   flight bookings      Typically I have always been asked to provide my travel plans, accommodation plans and proof of them. This is the first time that travel plans and accommodation plans are not asked to be sent. What might be the reason behind it? This really confuses me. Any help in clearing my confusion would be greatly welcome.
54694
I've gone through all similar questions but I believe my specific question doesn't have an answer yet.  I've applied for a Standard Visitor visa. After I completed the application, made an appointment and paid the fee, I noticed that the way I spelled my name on the application differs from how it is spelled in the passport by 1 letter (this is partially because of myself being an idiot, but mainly because my new passport has an incorrect transliteration of my name, whereas my old passport and any other document in my life has the correct one).  So here are the options I see:   Print the application and make a pen-and-ink correction with a black ballpoint pen by crossing the printed name/letter and writing the correct one - as answers to other similar questions suggests. Edit the PDF electronically and print it so that there are no visible corrections. However, as the form is saved at their end, there will be a discrepance between the printed form and saved form with no visible signs of correction.   Which way has better chance for me to have my application accepted?  Also (probably doesn't matter much but still): if it's the pen-and-ink correction, is it better to cross-out the whole name or only the wrong letter?
88138
I have my last name typed in wrongly(xxx Tumakuru instead of xxx yyy Tumkur)  while I was booking the ticket on Saudia for my trip on OCt 1, 2017 from BLR to LAX.  The reason being my passport was recently received from a Visa stamping and the sticker on the back of the passport had Tumakuru written on it, I saw that and used it. Tumakuru is how it's spelled on my passport for my place of birth but my last name on passport has Tumkur (they both mean the place name). Also while booking the ticket on Saudia I couldn't add the second part in my first name as the system showed an error due to spaces in first name so I skipped adding the second word.   Has anyone had issues travelling from Bangalore with a slightly misspelled name and a missing middle name on the boarding pass but all these present on the passport?   Thx...
110160
I am a student on a short term Schengen visa in Belgium. Recently, my passport was stolen after which I got a new passport issued by the Indian embassy. This obviously does not have a Schengen visa (that was on the stolen passport). I have copies of all the stolen documents and the police report. With these, is it okay to travel within the Schengen countries? The visa expiry is still another month away, though I don't know if it is now rendered invalid for travel. Any suggestions?
101577
I applied for UK business visa 10 days ago and it was refused because of a missing document, Here is full question on same -   Now I need to go to Italy as a tourist, Can I apply ?  If yes, what else things I would need to take care of ?
78822
Me and a friend will be travelling to the USA, Since we have a short layover in JFK airport, I was wondering if we have to use the non-US passport line, or if we can use the US passport line. (just looking for the shortest line)  I have a US Passport and my friend has a German passport. I also live in Europe right now.
120811
So I went on holiday to the USA last summer. I filled out an ESTA application online, which cost me 14 dollars due to processing costs and whatnot. I printed a copy of the approved PDF and put it in my backpack. I took it with me where ever I went, just in case.  Nobody, in the 15 days that I was there, asked for my ESTA application. Not during customs, not during my check-in at hotels, not during my flight back to where I live, never.   Why did I fill out that form? Was it accidental that nobody asked for it? In what situation would a person of authority ask for it? Do you need to have a printed copy with you at all times? Who are the persons who may ask for validation of an ESTA application?
74887
just wanted to inquire that can Visas be stamped on the Observation Pages of the Passport? I called my Embassy for renewal of Passport, however, the Passport Officer commented that you still have Observation Pages left. This was pretty strange to me as i never heard that Visas can be stamped on the Observation Pages. Does anyone has this experience?
7779
Three years ago I was on holidays in Canada and visited the Niagara Falls. I also went to the American side of the falls and got something like a "short-term visa". I also got a green paper with all my information (name, passport number, etc.) which I should give back at the border when leaving USA again.  When I got back from the USA side of the falls, the border was abandoned. Therefore I couldn't give the green paper back to the officials. Now I'm really a bit afraid that in their computer system I still haven't left the USA.  Next summer I plan to visit USA again. Can I get into trouble at the border?
120990
On multiple occasions I have seen forms where it needs to be stated what the Country of Issue and what the Country of Citizenship is. What is the difference between the two, if your passport is issued by a consulate in a foreign country. Technically the soil of a consulate belongs to its own country. So both the country of issue and citizenship should be the same. At least that is what I would say. But if this is the case, why do some forms require to fill in both?