flnycus

Hi all,
I submitted my forms to renew my standard red 10 yr passport to washington DC. I submitted all relevant info + my expiring passport.
Credit card was charged 4 weeks ago and i received the following requests for extra info:

1. where have i been since 2001?

Then when i submitted that i was asked:

2. Provide a copy of valid photo ID
3. A proper copy of my "long" birth certificate showing parents names etc

Then when i said i would send that i was asked for:

4. Medical records/
5. schools records

Now this is completely ridiculous. I went through the renewal procedure meticulously and submitted everything and now they are asking all these additional things. I am at a loss as to what they mean by medical/school records, i dont have any medical records in the US and do they just want a list of schools i went to? I am 30+ years old. This is absurd for a simple renewal. I was born in London!?!?

ANyone had to deal with this? Can i complain or is this normal?

lisa67

you might want to see if you can send Dean, at the British consulate in Florida a pm.

flnycus

is exactly right Lisa! Any idea how i find Dean? Thanks.

lisa67

search in the members list for British Consul

flnycus

Thanks you are a star!
Ive just read that the info they are asking me for is for a blue passport, i submitted a red one. I think someone is looking at the wrong checklist! I also find it funny the person requesting all this info isn't even British! I hope it gets resolved and i get my passport so i can travel again.

JAJ

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/UK_Passport_In_The_US

This explains what you should be asked for. Routine renewals don't normally get asked for documents and while there are issues with US birth certificates, they don't apply to British ones.

Unfortunately, the British Embassy is getting away with things (whether from incompetence or a bad attitude) that would cause a national outrage if done at the Passport Office in Britain.

lisa67

I really apologise if this is a really stupid question, but you did send it to the right place didn't you??

flnycus

Yep, British embassy in Washington DC as per the website. It was signed for and the lady says they have it processed but she cant release it until i send all this info...

The only thing i can think of is they are requesting docs for a old blue passport which i didnt have. Very bizarre, i have renewed a couple of passports since i was a kid, im now in my mid 30s. One other thing is my surname is "muslim" sounding, but that shouldnt matter should it? Perhaps i get put into a special pile =very frustrating.

lisa67

sorry for asking the obvious
Maybe you happen to have the exact same name as someone else who is renewing bit crazy though!

flnycus

LOL maybe, ill keep clutching at straws until i get my new passport ! Would have been easier to fly home and get it down there...

Giantaxe

Was your birth certificate issued within one month of your actual birth? That's what caused me grief when I renewed a passport for one of my children. I was amazed given it was a renewal.

flnycus

My birth certificate was issued one Week after my birth and they haven't asked to see it before why now?

Anyway its winging its way from the UK as we speak. As for the other stuff i have no idea what to do abt medical/school records?? I will definitely complain, even to the UK authorities if i have to. I'm sure i would have had this done in no time had i been in London.

Giantaxe

What I was told when I went into the passport office in DC was that (i) fraudulent applications for passports are a real problem; and (ii) if there is a significant gap between birth date and birth certificate issuance, they suspect the child may have been adopted. In my daughter's case, they wanted hospital and/or health insurance records for her birth. Fortunately, I'd kept the hospital bill; I don't know what would have happened if I had not.

JAJ

Not a valid comment if the birth certificate is UK issued, as is the case here.

JAJ

It is much easier to renew a passport at the Passport Office in Britain.

For making a complaint:
http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/help-fo...ort-complaint/