dmarge18

This is quite common for people who travel to the ME for work...if you enter a certain country (Israel, for example) with a stamp from another country (how about Pakistan) you may be facing some extra scrutiny. I knew of someone who had a separate passport for Israel trips to avoid that issue.

exwannabe

The vast majority of phones do not encrypt the flash system. All one needs to do connect via a debug cable (USB on most phones) and they would have access to the files. Your secure lock does not block that.

Unless you know that your phone has an encrypted flash system, you should not store sensitive data, unless you have some app that encrypts the specific data.

Personally I do not consider my passport that sensitive that I would care about it. But I would never do the same with key data for my main financial accounts.

Cris L

As a South African national, I currently have 3 valid passports, all of which are valid for the next 8 years at least.

2 of my passport were issued simultaneously and even have consecutive numbers.

ss278

Whew...I'm exhausted!

davetravels

I have ALWAYS carried 2 or 3 extra <black & white> copies of my passport with me on int'l trips. I always leave my passport in the rental apartment or hotel, and carry a copy with me, and they have always been accepted if I have been asked for ID when using a credit card to buy something.

That said, for some reason, I just never thought of pushing the "color" button on my copier instead of the "b & w" button! I'll be sure to make color copies in the future!

Zorak

I'd also be wary of just using the photo app to take a photo of any potentially sensitive document. Do you have your phone set up to automatically back up photos into Google Drive or iCloud or Dropbox? Are you sure? I thought I didn't, but on setting up a new phone, I suddenly had access to a bunch of photos I took with a previous phone (and not the most recent one either, like 2 or 3 phones ago)

That doesn't mean they're shared publicly of course. And even if they are, maybe there's limited things people can do with just the information w/o having a physical copy.

Anyway, point being, there may be unintended consequences, of which everyone of course has to make their own decision about how paranoid they want to be.

jdrtravel

This is true for tourist entry. For any type of longer visa, they attach a permament visa to one page of your passport. It takes up the whole page and has your picture, document number and other details. It's almost like a mini passport within a passport, and serves as your ID while in the country.

CPMaverick

It sounds like a standard photo visa. I'd say pretty normal for a working visa.

CJKatl

CALL YOUR CONGRESSPERSON OR SENATOR on Mon morning, or send an email!!!! I recently had an issue and Senator Johnny Isakson's office had my passport to me in a day. There is staff that handles this every day. Ironically, I used to do this for a Congressman back in the mid-eighties while in college. The passport office can use whatever picture is already on file and send you a replacement. You will need to fax or email a release to your Rep/Sen's office. That's it. No having to show evidence of impending travel, no rush fee, no hassle.

BTW, I was almost you. My passport disappeared while flying to ICN on the upper deck of a KE A380. Several FAs tried to help. Apparently one of them mentioned this to an FA downstairs who had experience this before. She came to my seat, had me get up, reclined the seat fully and stuck her hand behind a hidden console. My passport was there. Since then, the second I am on the plane my passport goes in a very specific place. I also have a pic of the passport saved to both my phones, the cloud and my sister's computer at home so that she can send it to me should all else fail.

mdaecher

I can't grasp it. You really think today's level of benefits justifies a mileage run like that? Obviously you do, so I'm curious as to why?

N104UA

Mileage runs for mid-tier statuses are not very useful now, however if a mileage run is the difference between Platinum and Diamond, it may make sense to do it.

Often1

Here's a trick.

Your Senator is calling the same line you can call. There is a Passport Agency in Minneapolis. It can issue a same-day passport so that in a real pinch you could replace your passport on the day of travel. But, that isn't the situation here. With three weeks to go, the individual will be told to wait until 2 weeks and at that point, either with an appointment (or without, just show up prior to opening time).

Have all of your paperwork (forms are online and you then print them out) and photos. Remember that a minor's application will need to be signed by both custodial parents or both will need to be present unless the non-present parent's form is properly notarized.

Don't mail your materials or do this at a Post Office. When documents are lost, they are lost and some Senator can personally go root through the garbage at State's processing center and he won't find what a mail clerk can't find.

drvannostren

For me as a Canadian, I know there's lots of countries that don't have Canadian embassies and I've seen advice in guidebooks to the effect of "contact the embassy closest to you". I can't imagine being in country A needing to go to country B to go to an embassy sans-passport, or trying to get them to mail you one or something.

CJKatl

I used to do this for a living and recently had it done. You are incorrect. Period. The individual will NOT be told to wait if he calls the elected official. Period.

BTW, my exact issue was the one you mentioned, that the Post Office lost my passport. Dealing with the Passport office, which is in New Hampshire, got me nowhere. A day after calling my Senator, I had the new one, so you are absolutely incorrect on that one. Nobody routed around the garbage. My Senator's office emailed his contact (there is a dept that works with Sens and Reps) and they printed and UPSed a new passport. The new passport has a notation that it is a replacement, and I've been questioned about this when entering a few countries.

And the OP is an adult. Why the info about a child? Did you read his post? There is no mention of a child anywhere. Heck, why not include the rules for using double coupons at Giant, as those are just as relevant.

aspenedelen

Great tip concerning my Congressman. I'll call John Thunes office tomorrow morning.

I wish I had more time to tear apart the FC seat. I'm willing to bet it is in that seat somewhere