frank09

Hi All,

I haven't been back to this site for a while, sorry for being out of touch.

My wife and kids received their approved visas in February and we moved here right after.

The move itself has been great, 5 months in, kids are settled and thankfully I've finally been offered a job so things looking good.

Except! The day after we arrived I went to apply for my kids to get their US Passports. As I didn't have enough proof of years living in the US I needed to get the kids green cards and as soon as they landed on US soil as permanent residents they were entitled to US citizenship and passports.

We had to send a lot of supporting documents along with the applications which included the kids UK passports, their birth certificates, our marriage cert, my US passport, my wifes UK passport.

A few weeks later each kids US passport arrived along with their UK passport, birth cert etc. With my oldest child's application,my US birth cert and marriage license was returned too.

BUT - they didn't return my US passport or my wife's UK passport (the one she had renewed days before the interview, the one which has that visa glued to it!). They told us to wait 4 weeks, nothing. Then the only option was to write to them. I did. they called back to say they were looking for them.

I have written twice since and no replies.

What can we do??? We haven't been able to get things sorted like bank accounts or drivers licenses which require the passports.

Please if anyone can advise as to what my next step can be.

I have sent an urgent letter to them one more time yesterday but that avenue doesn't seem to be helping.

Jscl

I think you need to escalate this but I don't know who to. A letter might not be getting to a person who can do anything. If they can't find them you should be able to get some sort of compensation, particularly if they admit they did have the lost passports at some time.

Did you do your passport application at the post office? They might be able to give you advice on what to do. (They might be helpful even if you sent the application in by mail.)

frank09

I did do it via the post office who were the people who said the only way to communicate with them is via mail!

Jscl

There is an email address at the passport website: http://travel.state.gov/passport/npic/npic_898.html That might help just because if would be a different group of people you're talking to.

I'd write as short and concise and email as possible and say something like:

. on mm/dd/2010 you applied for a passport for your children, you received the new passports but not two items in the supporting documents you sent with them: 1) US passpost for Mr Frank and 2) UK passport for Mrs Frank
. on mm/dd/2010 you called the support phone number (1-877-xxx-xxxx) and was told to wait four weeks for the supporting documents arrive
. you waited four weeks as requested but the supporting docs didn't arrive, so you sent a letter to XXXXX dept.
. on mm/dd/2010 you received a call saying the passport office saying they were looking for your lost supporting documents
. in the n weeks since that call you have had no further correspondence from the passport office despite writing to them two more times on mm/dd/2010 and mm/dd/2010.

Then say you've been very patient and the loss of the two passports is extremely inconvenient to you, and has proved problematic in acquiring your driving licenses and dealing with your bank. Ask them to please advise you how to proceed in getting these passports back or acquiring compensation for their loss ($xxx for UK passport + $$ mailing fees and $$yyy for UK passport +$$ mailing fees totaling $zzz).

You might not get anywhere but it might be a way to get a quicker response, depending on how they run their email. I'd also try calling that phone number again, as you've done everything they said the first time and it didn't work. Ask to have your call escalated to their supervisor or someone who can help you in claiming compensation for their loss of your documents. I think at this point it's almost certain that your passports are gone forever, but you still need to get some sort of compensation for them.

(also I'd read the information that came with the passport application that came with the application, and see if they say anything about their liability for your supporting documents)

Good luck!

penguinsix

Your congressman will have several field offices in his district, possibly one in your town. You can contact them and ask them to ask the State Department directly. You will need to sign a privacy release with the Congressman's office (can be done by fax) but they have a direct number to an office within the Passport office for 'fixing things'.

Look in the phone book's 'blue' pages (government pages) and when you call ask for 'a caseworker' to discuss a passport problem. Or just call their Washington office (Call 1-202-224-3121 and tell them your zip code and they'll route your call appropriately).

fwiw, I've never heard of anyone having to send in their passports for proof. Usually that step is handled at a passport acceptance office (i.e. the Post Office) as proof and then they send in the application with a 'certification' that they have seen your passports and that they were valid. Did someone at a Post Office tell you to send them in or was there some form that required it?

frank09

penguinsix- thanks for your reply. I did it at the post office and was told that the passports HAD to be sent with. I will try contacting the congressman's office.

frank09

jscl, have sent the email, will see if it helps!

have also just now sent a detailed email to my congressman, will also see if that gets me anywhere

md95065

Seems like you should also start the process of applying for replacement passports - you still have your US birth certificate, right? So, I think that all you need is some kind of photo id as well - do you have anything that they might accept?

frank09

I have my uK passport but don't really want to give that to them.

Also, can't apply for new passport without cancelling the old one.

Rete

Then that should be one of the things that you discuss with them when you finally get a knowledgable person to converse with. They should give you a replacement US Passport, without charge, to replace the one that they have misplaced.

I don't understand why you need a passport to open a bank account or get a driver's license.

You have a US birth certificate and a social security number, and your UK wife has a green card and should by now have a social security number, why do you need passports?

frank09

Bank asked for valid photo ID. our uk drivers licenses weren't acceptable. And I was told the my UK passport wasn't acceptable either! When I asked why my wife's UK passport would be OK the answer was "because she can't have a us passport".

This could be down to an incompetent bank employee but haven't really looked into it further.

As for driver's license, we are in NJ and they have a certain amount of point in their system, however, re looking at it, we shpuld be ok without passports whereas we weren't when we first got here (things like utility bills etc)

N1cky

Also, you cannot get a replacement visa, if it is lost you have to go out of the US to get a new one.

frank09

She already has her green card, i don't believe she needs the visa in her passport anymore.

N1cky

Sorry, I didn't realize she had a green card. I read the above as she was here on a visa.

frank09

No worries! so at least thats not a problem