Passport Dilemma?

[Hate 2 W8t]

Calling all experts. This is kinda long. Need some advice and comforting words of assurance that all will be okay...

 

I took DODH (Dear ol' DH, hint of sarcasm) to the post office to apply for his passport this weekend. While in the huge line (where did that come from? there was no line last weekend when I checked their hours) I started reading the "details" of the passport application and my husband's birth certificate. Uh-oh. Here's what I discovered...

 

1. My MIL is a bit odd. (okay, I didn't discover that in these documents, but really she is a hoot.) Anyway, she named my husband Scot. Nope, no typo there. Just one 't'. I have learned to live with this and life has been okay....until now. I discover DH's real name is Scott, not Scot, at least according to his birth cert. You know, that thing where the parents tell the world what the kid's name is? How do you not notice that what you intend to call your kid, and do so for decades, doesn't match what's on the doc? Don't even get me started on DH. How has he missed this information? If that's not enough...

 

2. We discover that DH's birth cert was not filed until 16 months after his birth. Reason being he is adopted. According to the paperwork, we have to provide some extra documentation like a cert of baptism (don't have that), hospital birth record (strike two), insurance paperwork (huh, who keeps that stuff from when they were born?), newspaper clippings (no luck there either, it's not like anybody was paying that much attention to another kid born to parents who didn't want him :( ).

 

So, with all of this, the lady at the post office says to go ahead and send it in. If they need any more information, they will let us know. Luckily, we don't leave until 8/28, so hopefully this is enough time to resolve this situation. We are only going to Alaska, but now I am worried they will have a problem with his name on the birth cert not matching his drivers' license. His social security card shows only on 't' and his US Naval records are split. I can't think of any other government issued documentation I could turn to for this issue.

 

If you are still reading this...thank you. Hopefully you can provide some sort of advice or words of comfort. Thanks

[CarolynB]

I had a simular situation when we had to get dh birth certificate amended. I went to the school (we are still in the same town) and get got papers that said he had been registered there. It worked, then we got the passport.

 

Don't know if this will help, but you might do that, if you can.

[Dreamer333]

I'm confuse about #2... the birth certificate...

 

Why does it matter that it wasn't filed until 16 months after his birth? Why would this effect him getting his passport?

[Cruisin' Chick]

Don't really know what to say about your case. I did notice on a mailing from the Social Security office that my DOB is wrong (somehow a 4 became a 14). Finally check their website and downloaded the form to bring in. But of course, my birth certificate is in my maiden name and when I got married, I changed my name on my card. So my question is: do I have to dig out my marriage certificate once more when I go into the SS office?

 

Also, I got out my daughter's passport (I needed her birth certificate to sign her up for a new school) and realized it will expire during our next cruise. So I went on the passport website and discovered that things have really changed in the last few years. The last time I renewed her passport, I just needed to go into the office with the checks, new photos, and her old passport. Now for kids under 14, both parents and the child have to go into the office in person.

[Hate 2 W8t]

I'm confuse about #2... the birth certificate...

 

Why does it matter that it wasn't filed until 16 months after his birth? Why would this effect him getting his passport?

 

Don't know the "why", but the instructions state that if the birth certificate is filed more than 12 months after the birth, you have to provide some other documents like the ones I mentioned.

 

Carolyn - Thanks for the reply. I will ask MIL to get his high school records. They still live across the street from the high school, so it shouldn't be too difficult (not to mention she used to work there). I am trying to gather anything I can find, just in case. I would rather be ready than scrambling at the last minute. What is the process like to get a birth certificate amended? Did it take a lot of time? Was it mostly through the mail process? I would really prefer to avoid downtown Los Angeles, where it seems one must go from So Cal for any "official" stuff. Yuck!

 

Cruisin' Chick - Don't know about yours either. I would imagine that since the name on the SS card has already been changed and you are just trying to fix their typo, you probably wouldn't need the marriage license again. But, who knows? You may want to call ahead before you make the trip to the office. Those lines can be awful. No sense waiting to be told what they can tell you on the phone.

 

Thanks for all of the replies. I will try to spin back down now. :p

[Dreamer333]

What about adoption papers? Does your MIL still have those? Maybe those will work?

[CarolynB]

Since we live in the same state as my dh was born. I called the office to see what I needed and got it. I went to Phoenix and waited for them to process the information and walked out the door with it. Dh didn't go with me, so I had to get a notarized letter to do the process for him.

[abbydancer2003]

Also' date=' I got out my daughter's passport (I needed her birth certificate to sign her up for a new school) and realized it will expire during our next cruise. So I went on the passport website and discovered that things have really changed in the last few years. The last time I renewed her passport, I just needed to go into the office with the checks, new photos, and her old passport. Now for kids under 14, both parents and the child have to go into the office in person.[/quote']

 

My sister just renewed my neice's passport (She's 12) and the father didn't have to go with them - I believe she just had to provide some sort of notarized form signed by him that it was OK for her to get the passport.

 

By the way, the neice is going to France with her grandmother this month - and you folks here at CruiseCritic saved her trip. Because I'm researching our cruise I read somewhere that for some destinations the passport had to be valid for 6 months subsequent to return. Nobody in my family knew anything about that, but once they checked, sure enough, she had to get a new one (the old one would have expired 2 weeks after her return). My sisters original plan was to renew after she got back. If I hadn't been visiting this site, they would have gotten to the airport and been denied. (I told my neice to remind her grandmother of this every time they see something there I might like).

 

So thanks!

[CarolynB]

I forgot to add that the requirements for the school had to be before my dh was 10 years old. I was lucky that his elementary school still had records.

 

Like posted above maybe the adoption papers will be all you need.

[rjg41]

I don't understand the urgency of the problem. It sounds like you are a US citizen and the requirement for a PP for Canada is not in effect this year. Simply the BC and a dirvers license is all that is required. You have plenty of time to resolve this for future travel. If the DL needs to be fixed for the "t", that is easy. By the way one of my son in laws is one "t". Not that uncommon.

[shirlmac]

but now I am worried they will have a problem with his name on the birth cert not matching his drivers' license. His social security card shows only on 't' and his US Naval records are split. I can't think of any other government issued documentation I could turn to for this issue.

 

To answer your question, we have had this problem with my DH, seem he used his name spelled one way on all of his documents all of his life when we

received his Birth Certificate his name was spelled entirely different. We have never ran into a problem, the only place we use his name spelled on his Birth Certificate is when we travel. We put airline and cruise tickets in his Birth Certificate name, otherwise all other such documents as Drivers License and Social Security Bank, etc., uses his other spelling all has worked out and we have never had a problem.

[Dreamer333]

I'm not sure how it is in Texas, but in IL, we can have both a drivers license and a state ID...

If his drivers license is spelled the "incorrect" way (but also the way he uses it in many of his documents), I would have him get a state ID that spells it the way it is on his birth certificate...

So depending on the situation, he has official ID with both spellings.

[Hate 2 W8t]

I'm not sure how it is in Texas, but in IL, we can have both a drivers license and a state ID...

If his drivers license is spelled the "incorrect" way (but also the way he uses it in many of his documents), I would have him get a state ID that spells it the way it is on his birth certificate...

So depending on the situation, he has official ID with both spellings.

 

Awesome idea!!! [bTW, I'm in Kaleefournya (per our governator):D .]

 

Hadn't thought of that one. We'll still work on the passport since we are planning for either Italy land-vacation or Panama Canal cruise in the next year or two, but this is a great immediate resolution to this trip.

 

Thanks to everyone who replied. If I get an unexpected result, I will be sure to update you.

[jezzdogg]

Have a your MIL write a letter detailing the miss spelling(?) of his name and the fact that he was adopted so the birth certirficate was not filed, etc. Then have the letter notized and send it with all the other information.

My Mom....did not have any of that information., all I had was a driver lisense in the name of Betty and her school papers in her maiden name with her name of Betsy. Had her sister write a letter for us and went to the passport office in NYC and was able to get her a passport.

[Pam in CA]

Here's another possibility: in my town, if you're a registered voter, you can go to the Town Hall and get a notarized card that you are currently a resident and voter. For a child, if they are enrolled in the school system, they can get the card verifying that they are a resident.

[Next]

Sounds like you be OK with the Passport.

 

Tell us about the MIL!!! :D

[Hate 2 W8t]

Sounds like you be OK with the Passport.

 

Tell us about the MIL!!! :D

 

Since you asked...I was not prepared for this the first time I met his family. Mind you, he is from a very small town in Utah. (we met in San Diego and I am a So Cal girl since I was 9 months old) The first time I met her, I couldn't believe my eyes...her hair was blue. I don't mean "old lady blue", I mean BLUE...the kind of blue you see on raging football fans, half naked, getting snowed on, with blue-dyed hair! Since that time, I have seen it cotton candy pink, an aqua blue, rainbow, bright red, and I think I recall an interesting shade of green. Hmmm...maybe that was one of the grandkids. :p

 

Her socks rarely match and she owns the greatest hats. She just recently joined the Red Hat Society. She was born to be a Red Hat gal!

 

She couldn't care less what anyone thinks of her or how she looks. Nor does she care what you think of her opinions, and she freely gives them out, whether you want them or not. I don't always agree with her, but at least she has an opinion.

 

She dearly loves her children (four boys...maybe that explains something:rolleyes: ) and her grandchildren. We don't have kids (his brothers have taken care of the procreating for this family...11 kids for the other three) but we see how she plays with them just like she is one of them. She is like the kids' Barbie doll, which I later learned was the source of the colored hair.

 

She has battled breast and lung cancer in the last five years. She was always positive, upbeat, and downright abnormal! She has put up a great fight and is still winning. She's not as spry as she used to be, but who among us is?

 

She is a fun, loving human being that will leave the world a little less bright when the Lord brings her home. Let's hope that is not for a while still. We all need more COLOR in our lives!

[Dreamer333]

Sounds like you be OK with the Passport.

 

Tell us about the MIL!!! :D

 

Yes, I agree...give us some juicy stories!!

 

 

 

EDIT: Oops, we posted at the exact same time, Hate 2 W8t!!

[Cruisin' Chick]

"My sister just renewed my neice's passport (She's 12) and the father didn't have to go with them - I believe she just had to provide some sort of notarized form signed by him that it was OK for her to get the passport."

 

 

I noticed that but if hubby has to go get a form notarized, he might as well just come with us to the post office (he gets Fridays off as he starts his work week on Sunday so that's not a problem).

[Dreamer333]

Your MIL sounds wonderful!!!! So full of life!!!!

[Iamthesea]

it's not like anybody was paying that much attention to another kid born to parents who didn't want him :(

I don't know if I can help you with your problem, but I did want to point out that your above statement wasn't really fair or necessary. Most "parents" that give their children up for adoption would love to keep their children, but also know that it would be best to place them for adoption. It is the greatest gesture of love they can make.;)

 

I was adopted and have a niece that was adopted. I am thankful that our biological parents decided to give us a better life.

 

My original birth certificate was issued after my adoption was finalized.

I had no trouble getting a passport. I wrote the state in which I was born and requested a new issue of my birth certificate. Although I had the adoption papers, there was no need for any other documents.

 

I hope your passport comes through OK.

[Hate 2 W8t]

I hope you realize I didn't mean to offend or to diminish the process of adoption. However, it is certainly not an untruth that people don't make birth announcements for a child they cannot / will not be keeping. As a result, this particular resource was not an option.

 

Also, you will notice by the :( that I placed after the message, I think it is a shame that the birth of a child should go uncelebrated. We have no children ourselves and would relish in that opportunity.

 

Thank you for your best wishes,

[norskenancy]

hate 2, YOu have a great mil. Maybe she like Care bears - they come in lots of colors like her hair. I also have a great mil. I could not ask for more. Hope she is with you alot longer. We need more people like that in this world.

Norske

[Next]

Why don't you bring the MIL on the cruise?

 

You might give the jeans-in-the-dining-room debaters a run for their money.

 

CCers, what is Princess' policy on matching socks in the dining room? LOL. :D

[Iamthesea]

I hope you realize I didn't mean to offend or to diminish the process of adoption. However, it is certainly not an untruth that people don't make birth announcements for a child they cannot / will not be keeping. As a result, this particular resource was not an option.

 

Also, you will notice by the :( that I placed after the message, I think it is a shame that the birth of a child should go uncelebrated. We have no children ourselves and would relish in that opportunity.

Now, I see what you meant in your comment...birth announcements! However, a birth announcement could be from anyone, not just birth parents. There was a birth announcement in the paper for my welcoming, as well as for my sister (I left her out before) and niece. There were also mailed announcments. Would your mother-in-law happen to have one of those?

 

I also forgot to mention that my adoption papers say I was born on the 8th and my birth certificate says I was born on the 9th. The announcements went out with the 8th on them, but we celebrate my birthday on the 9th. My given name is also spelled differently on some documentation. I am sure that happens all of the time and the passport authorities are faced with this as well.

 

In any event, I know something can be worked out for your husband. Please give us an update.

 

PS - I just realized that you are in Canada and red tape may be more difficult for you.