How to avoid the INS giving you so much hassle:

1. Get you dog to chew your passport, drop it in a backet of water, or damage it in some other way
2. Call the UKPA (0870 521 0410), tell them you're travelling within 48 hours, and that your passport is damaged (The UKPA website - http://www.ukpa.gov.uk - says that they won't replace a damaged passport in 4 hours, but my personal experience they do ).
3. Goto your nearest passport service centre at your alloted time, hand over the forms, documentation and £75 ($85 if you want the 48 page passport)
4. Go back 4 hours later and colect your shiny new passport
5. Get into the US with no 'nasty' stamps on your passport

So long as you're not doing this to hide immigration fraud, and simply as a way to get hassled less, you should have no problems.

In my case, I've received replacements for a damaged passport, and for one that had several middle eastern entry/exit stamps (was travelling in October 2001). They let me keep the undamaged passport uncancelled as it still has several currently valid multi-entry visas in it for some 'interesting' countries.

HTH

Steve

[This message has been edited by steveda (edited 08-29-2002).]

[This message has been edited by steveda (edited 08-29-2002).]