Sorry, but that is not tre. EVERY embassy/consulat is different. Some consulats will only send your passport on to the embassy, some will make you wait an hour, some 24 hours, some by appointment only, others walkin..........

Given the heavy workloads at NYC, they almost always make you come back. If they see you departing in a few hours maybe they will do it faster.

Im glad to read that you can have a second insert added (or more if needed). Mine is already quite full with the first insert added. Luckily, I have the 48-page passport so I can have many more inserts if needed.

It's been quite the pain having to explain to immigration officials to please not stamp on a blank page as I need it for a visa. They dont like it when I tell them, "please stamp on page 17 on the top left square", haha!

I dont want to simply get a new passport because I have several visas (Brazil, Chile, etc) that would require me to pay more and get them again if I have a new passport.

Get global entry, they normally don't stamp at all.

Ciao,
FH

Denied extra pages at the US Embassy in Guatemala City because, according to them (and then verified by the Passport Agency in Dallas), only TWO sets of extra pages may be added. After this, one must apply for a new passport. If you received the thicker passport in the beginning, only one extra set can be added.

I have frequently used a Brazilian visa in an old passport that was still valid, thus avoiding the cost of a new visa when I had to change passports. No problem entering/leaving Brazil.

For the likes of Brazil and quite the number of other countries, the kind of situation to which you refer is perfectly valid for purposes of travel. Even TIMATIC has notices to this effect in case airline agents are unaware or unsure about the circumstances applicable to visas in cancelled/expired passports.

For those who don't want to carry the expired/cancelled passport(s) along with the current passport, note that some countries will "transfer" a valid visa to a valid passport without requiring any additional fees.

Interesting -- I got three sets of extension pages in my last passport, which was a 24-pager. No one said anything about a limit. It was early this decade, so policies may have changed.

Is the thicker passport the one with 24 pages? So that now only allows one insert of pages?

$82 to add pages in valid US passport?
 

Is it true? That's what I am hearing now- that if I mail my passport to National Passport Service Center-Philadelphia, I have to attach a check or money order in the amount of USD 82.

So far I have 3 booklets added to my US passport - all at various US consulates or US Embassy and never had to pay any fee.

Does it mean - if I send it to PHIL- I have to pay and if I do it at overseas, its FREE ?

Your government wants more money from you to support their lavish lifestyle. Now it is $82 now to add pages here, or overseas. Adding pages is no longer a reasonable option except in rare emergencies. You might as well just renew and ask for the 48 page passport. It is more cost effective now that the US State Department holds frequent travelers in contempt.

I had a flight with a US Consular official last week. I mentioned that I wasn't too pleased with the new fees for additional pages. He agreed that it was silly.

He did say that all the new passports are coming with 52 pages now, though, so that would be a good thing if it's true.

My 5 year old non-RFID came as a doublewide (48), and I've added two more 24 page inserts. Luckily I added more before the stupid fee came into play.

If you do get pages added now be sure to ask to have two sets added. It's the same price whether you get one or two additions.

I always used to get the "businessman's" passport, at no extra cost, which I believe had twice as many pages as the normal one. I was able to get one set of extra pages for it. When I got my last passport at the US embassy in Oslo in 2008, I was told that that it was no longer possible to get the thicker passport.

Thanks to Schengen, full passport pages aren't as much of a problem as they used to be for me.

Last time I had pages added, right before the new ripoff big government fee was implemented earlier this year, I enclosed a written request for two sets of inserts to be added. I had little expectation my request would actually be honored and in fact they did chose to ignore it. I received only one set of inserts.