Practical Travel Safety Issues - Got My New Passport (USA) But...

They didn't send the old one back as well. Is this a new policy? If I'd known they wouldn't send it back, I would've kept it and simply sought the new one from scratch. I was rather attached to that little blue book.

The old (canceled/deactivated) passport will be returned to you in a separate mailing. Don't worry!

The old (canceled/deactivated) passport will be returned to you in a separate mailing. Don't worry!

Whew! Thanks!

They didn't send the old one back as well. Is this a new policy? If I'd known they wouldn't send it back, I would've kept it and simply sought the new one from scratch. I was rather attached to that little blue book.
Unless your old passport was already expired, you would have to send it in anyway even if you wanted to do it from scratch.

Unless your old passport was already expired, you would have to send it in anyway even if you wanted to do it from scratch.

you do not actually. You can always file the full form. you just note your old passport is "not available". Happens scores of times daily.

you do not actually. You can always file the full form. you just note your old passport is "not available". Happens scores of times daily.

Exactly. Even if it was available, how would anyone know otherwise?

you do not actually. You can always file the full form. you just note your old passport is "not available". Happens scores of times daily.

That is indeed a frequent issue.

Exactly. Even if it was available, how would anyone know otherwise?

... as long as it doesn't end up used after being considered lost/misplaced/stolen or otherwise discovered late, unlikely to be known.

you do not actually. You can always file the full form. you just note your old passport is "not available". Happens scores of times daily.
Exactly. Even if it was available, how would anyone know otherwise?
You do, actually. For the question, "Have you ever applied for or been issued a US Passport Book?", there are four choices on DS-11 (aka "full form"): Submitting with application
Stolen
Lost
in my possesion (if expired)
Now, if you have a valid passport in your possesion, which one would you check without providing a false information?

You do, actually.

Actually, we don't. Don't believe, then ask OLA at State as the people there will can validate that which has been mentioned by FlyingHoustonian and myself.

This is a Canadian experience, but I thought you might find it interesting.

I applied for new passports for my wife and I at our city's passport office last month. The passports are forwarded by registered mail, but one has to present the old passport if possible. (Canada actually has an expedited renewal process that is much simpler if a person has a recently-expired or nearly-expired passport.)

Once the clerk was done processing our applications, she put our old passports into a voiding machine that perforated them "VOID", and she handed them back to me.

Pretty efficient, but dramatic. :)

Once the clerk was done processing our applications, she put our old passports into a voiding machine that perforated them "VOID", and she handed them back to me.

This is not unlike the experience I had at the Chicago passport office. I made an appointment for the morning. Gave them my forms, photos, payment, and expired passport.

I came back in a few hours, and I received a new passport and my old passport with holes punched in the front cover to obscure the numbers at the bottom. This seemed to be their standard procedure as others picking up had the same thing.

You do, actually. For the question, "Have you ever applied for or been issued a US Passport Book?", there are four choices on DS-11 (aka "full form"): Submitting with application
Stolen
Lost
in my possesion (if expired)
Now, if you have a valid passport in your possesion, which one would you check without providing a false information?

If I hand it to my attorney for safe-keeping, none of the applies and I haven't lied.

;)

They've been doing that with every passport I've had, and at 5 years per passports, it is a lot of passports.
This is a Canadian experience, but I thought you might find it interesting.

I applied for new passports for my wife and I at our city's passport office last month. The passports are forwarded by registered mail, but one has to present the old passport if possible. (Canada actually has an expedited renewal process that is much simpler if a person has a recently-expired or nearly-expired passport.)

Once the clerk was done processing our applications, she put our old passports into a voiding machine that perforated them "VOID", and she handed them back to me.

Pretty efficient, but dramatic. :)

The old one arrived as expected with three neat little holes punched through it. It's nice to have it back.