subject: Why There Is No Reason To Stress When You've Lost A Us Passport [print this page] People lose their passports all time, either during the hectic packing and preparing process before a long vacation or while jumping from metro to metro in Paris. A passport getting lost or stolen is a fact of life that you must learn to take with a grain of sand. Better prepare yourself before traveling by researching what to do in the event that you find yourself with a lost passport and an encroaching flight plan.
If you have lost your USA passport documents while still in the United States, then you are one of the lucky ones. Dealing with any sort of passport mishap is always easier on U.S. soil. All you have to do is fill out a form and send it to the Department of State. This form can be found online at the official website of the U.S. Department of State.
Unfortunately, anyone who has ever traveled before knows that things get stolen and lost a lot easier when you are carrying around everything you own from country to country. If your passport gets stolen, you have to tell the local authorities so they can help you try to track it down. If you have simply misplaced or lost your passport, you will need to talk to somebody at the United States Embassy about getting a temporary passport for your return flight home (or the rest of your travels). Bring all of your planned itineraries with you to the Embassy so you can clearly explain why you need a temporary passport.
The Embassy will ask you to fill out a passport application, but due to new regulations, they cannot give you a real passport. When you arrive back in the U.S., you will have to re-apply for a permanent passport to replace your lost or stolen one.
The worst thing to happen while traveling is not only having your passport go missing but to lose all and any form of identification. Going to the embassy and asking for a temporary passport under a name that you cannot verify is a sticky situation. Avoid any trouble by making Xerox copies of your passport, bank cards and your driver's license before leaving the United States. Although photocopies are not official documents, they will work when you are in a bind.
Another smart idea is to keep a journal where you have all of your important identification numbers written down. If you are incredibly unlucky and lose not only your passport but your ID and your bank cards and all of the photocopies you made, hopefully you will still have a sheet of paper with your passport number written on it.
Have someone trustworthy from home agree to pay for passport fees in the event that something happens with your documents. You could have your money stolen as well. Think of these things ahead of time and make preparations.
