Today we’ll review your best options to get the perfect passport photo. We will also review the items that you aren’t allowed to wear in your passport photo. We’ll also share our recommendations for the kind of attire that will help you get the best photo for your new passport.

Mobile Apps to Get the Perfect Passport Photo

These Items Will Get Your Passport Photo Rejected

There are some things you might wear in your passport photo that you’ll regret in years to come. That too-trendy haircut or neon green sweatshirt might be embarrassing someday, but they don’t violate State Department rules. But there are some things that you are absolutely forbidden to wear in your passport photo. Wearing any of the items listed below can cause your passport photo to be rejected, and your passport won’t be issued until you provide a photo that meets government standards.

Glasses

The State Department changed their rules last fall, and you may no longer wear any type of glasses in your passport photo. Take your glasses off before the camera snaps!

Uniforms

All types of uniforms are forbidden in the photo you submit for your passport. No military uniforms, flight crew uniforms, or professional uniforms can be worn. You’ll need to wear regular street clothes in your photo.

Hats and Headgear

No hats are allowed in passport photos unless it is religious headgear such as a headscarf or yarmulke that you wear every day. If you do wear religious headgear, you’ll need to make sure that it isn’t covering your face at all. For example, you may wear a hijab scarf, but not a niqab that covers most of your face. You’ll also need to submit a letter explaining that you wear the item for religious reasons every day.

Hair That Covers Your Face

When you style your hair for your passport photo shoot, make sure that your entire face is visible. Don’t let your hair drape over your face and obscure your eyes. If you have very long bangs that cover your eyebrows, you should pin them back with bobby pins. It’s best if your ears show, as well, but that won’t cause your photo to be rejected.

Headbands and Large Hair Accessories

Don’t wear headbands or any bulky hair accessories when you go to get your passport photo. We’ve seen too many photos rejected because the applicants were wearing a headband. This rule even applies to those cute baby headbands that so many parents like to put on their infant daughters! You should also avoid any large hair clips, bows, “scrunchies” or ribbons. If you need to pull your hair back, opt for bobby pins or thin ponytail holders.

Wear This, Not That

Over the years, we’ve learned that some kinds of outfits look better in passport photos than others. Below, we’ve listed some of our “best practices” for passport pictures. The suggestions we’ve listed below are not State Department rules, they’re just some guidelines to help you choose the best outfit to wear when you get a photo taken for your passport.

Wear a Collared Shirt, Not a Tank Top

One of the most important things to keep in mind when choosing clothes for your photo is that the picture will be cropped when it is printed on your passport. All that will be visible is your face and the area around your collarbone. That’s why we think it’s best to wear a collared shirt or a top with a high neckline. We’ve seen photos in which the applicant wore a tank top or a shirt with a wide v-neck, and on the passport, it looks like they aren’t wearing any clothes at all!

Wear a Color Other Than White

Your passport photo must have a plain white background, so if you wear a white shirt, it may blend into the background and leave you looking like a floating head.

Go For Classic, Not Trendy

You’re going to have your new passport for ten years, and ten years is a long time when it comes to fashion trends! It’s best to opt for clothing, hair, and makeup that is relatively neutral and timeless. Otherwise, your passport might start looking dated long before it expires.

What’s most important, though, is that you choose an outfit that makes you feel confident. As long as you aren’t wearing glasses, headgear, uniforms, or hair in your face, your passport picture will be just fine!

The post What Should Be Worn in a Passport Photo? appeared first on G3Passports.

One of the biggest myths about US passports is that newborn babies do not need passports to travel with their parents.  This is absolutely not true. Every traveler needs to have their very own passport, and that includes newborn babies!

Whether you are planning to travel internationally with your young baby, or whether you want to get your baby a passport just to prove her US citizenship, there are some special considerations for passports for newborns.  Newborn babies are subject to all the same passport requirements as any other minor passport applicant.  Today, we’ll look at some of those requirements in depth and learn what’s a little different about getting passports for newborns.

Getting a Birth Certificate for Your Newborn

The birth certificate showing your child was born in the US is the most important requirement for a minor passport.  Usually, when we talk about getting a birth certificate for a passport, we’re talking about how to get an official copy of a birth certificate.  For a newborn baby, we need to talk about how to get a birth certificate issued for the very first time!

Birth certificates are issued by the Vital Statistics Office in each US state or territory.  It’s your responsibility, as a parent, to file for your baby’s birth certificate.  You’ll need to have decided on your baby’s name before you file.  You’ll also need to provide the full names of both parents and their city, state, and date of birth.   Part of the birth certificate form will also be completed by the medical practitioner who attended your birth.  The way you’ll file for the birth certificate will depend on where your baby was born.

• Hospital birth – Every hospital has employees on staff who go around the maternity ward to help new parents file for their baby’s birth certificate.  They will give you a form to fill out, and then they will collect the form and file it for you.
• Freestanding birthing center – The staff at the birthing center will help you file for your baby’s birth certificate. much like the staff at a hospital would.
• Birth at home with a registered midwife – Your midwife will help you fill out and file the form to get your baby’s birth certificate.
• Unassisted homebirth – Some people choose to give birth without medical assistance… and for others, it’s a huge surprise when baby decides to arrive in a hurry at home or in the car!  If you are planning an unassisted homebirth, we recommend you check in advance with your state’s Vital Statistics Office to find out if any additional documents are needed.  Some states require that you provide “proof of pregnancy,” such as records of your prenatal care or affidavits from people who saw you during your pregnancy.

Filing for the birth certificate is only the first step!  You will not automatically be sent a copy of your baby’s birth certificate.  You will either need to order a copy by mail, or you will need to go to a local Vital Statistics Office in person to get a copy of your baby’s birth certificate.  You’ll need to prove that you are your baby’s parent, usually by showing your driver’s license or passport, and you’ll have to pay for the birth certificate copy.  Most places offer a large discount on a second copy of the birth certificate — if you are offered the chance to get a discount on two copies, we highly recommend you get an extra!

Social Security Number

A new law that went into effect in December 2015 means that you have to list your Social Security Number on your passport application.  This is even true for passports for newborns!  You’ll need to include your baby’s Social Security Number on her passport application… which means she’ll need to get a Social Security Number before she gets her first passport!

You’ll be able to request your baby’s Social Security Number at the same time you file for the birth certificate.  You’ll get your baby’s Social Security Card in the mail as soon as it is issued.  It usually takes 2-4 weeks for the card to arrive.

Passport Photos for Babies

Your newborn baby is going to need a passport photo!  Getting an appropriate passport photo for a tiny baby can pose some challenges.  We actually think it works best to take your baby’s passport photo yourself!  Here are a few points to keep in mind:

• Try to get a photo with your baby’s eyes open, if you can… but if you can’t, don’t sweat it.  The State Department understands that it’s hard to keep a newborn’s eyes open, and they will accept baby passport photos with eyes closed.
• Don’t have anything on your baby’s head — no hats, headbands, or hairbows.
• No pacifiers, toys, parents’ hands, or other objects can be in the photo with the baby.

Visiting the Passport Acceptance Agent

Yes, even babies have to go in person to the Passport Acceptance Facility!  But it’s totally fine if baby sleeps through the whole visit to the Passport Acceptance Agent.

Do you have other questions about passports for newborns? Ask us in the comments, or call us today!

The post Passports for Newborns – What Does Your Tiny Traveler Need? appeared first on G3Passports.

Drastic Appearance Changes Require Passport Renewals

A basic rule of thumb as to whether your appearance change is significant enough to require a passport renewal is to look at your photo in your passport, look in the mirror, and ask yourself if a stranger would recognize you as the person in the photo.  If you no longer resemble the person in your passport photo, you should renew your passport right away, no matter how long you have before it expires.  Otherwise, you may have major problems when you try to travel with your passport, because border authorities and airport staff may not believe that you’re really the person shown on your passport!

An early passport renewal for appearance change should only be done if you have had a truly drastic change in appearance, such as:

• Extreme weight loss or weight gain.  If your weight has changed by more than 100 pounds, your face may not resemble the photo in your passport.  Not only may you no longer look like your old self to the naked eye, but the changes in the size of your face may also throw off the biometric scanners used at many airports.
• Extensive plastic surgery. We’re not talking about an eye lift or a little botox, but major reconstructive surgery, such as you might have if you were in an accident.
• Gender transition. Transgender travelers who have transitioned their appearance from one gender to another should also get an early passport renewal.  If you’ve also legally changed your name as part of your transition, you can have your name changed on your passport at the same time.

Minor Appearance Change? You Can Keep Using Your Passport

Over the course of ten years, it’s understood that you will have some changes in appearance.  Your appearance change may be due to aging, or due to fashion.  You don’t need to renew your passport if you’ve changed your appearance in any of the following ways:

• New hair color. Has your hair gone grey?  Did you bleach your brown hair to see if blondes really do have more fun?  Have you jumped on the “mermaid hair” trend and dyed your locks blue and green?  It doesn’t matter what color your hair was in your passport photo or what color it is now.  Hair color changes are easily understood by immigration officials.
• You got glasses. Worried that your new specs will make you look different than your passport photo?  It’s not a problem.  In fact, the US State Department no longer allows glasses to be worn in passport photos.  The new norm is for bespectacled travelers to have passport photos that show them without their glasses.
• You’ve gained or lost a few pounds.  Unless you’ve moved way up or down the BMI charts, your weight loss or weight gain won’t change the shape of your face to the point of confusing the facial recognition scanners.
• You’ve gone bald… or started wearing a wig. Whether you’ve lost your hair to the sands of time or to a razor, having gone bald isn’t enough of an appearance change to require a new passport.  And if your passport photo shows you with a bald head, and you’ve grown your hair back or bought a toupee, that’s fine, too!
• You have colored contact lenses.  If you’ve made your brown eyes blue with the help of colored contacts, it’s not a big enough appearance change to make you unrecognizable.  You can still travel with your passport until it expires.
• Minor plastic surgery.  Most plastic surgery procedures, including full facelifts and rhinoplasty, aren’t a radical enough change in appearance to mandate an early passport renewal.

Are There Extra Requirements for Passport Renewals Due to Appearance Change?

Wondering if you should renew your passport because of your appearance change?  You can always call G3 and talk to one of our passport specialists to get our expert advice on whether or not you should renew your passport early.

An early passport renewal due to an appearance change will have all the same required documents as a normal passport renewal.  The only additional document you’ll need to submit is a signed letter addressed to the US Department of State.  In the letter, you should explain why your appearance has changed, and request that your passport be renewed early with an updated photo.  It’s that simple!

The post Appearance Change? You May Need to Renew Your Passport appeared first on G3Passports.