Getting A New Us Passport

[Desde2008]

BaltRochGirl,

Did you renew your passport while living here?

If so, I have a few questions:

• Did you use your Argentine address on the new passport?
• Did you make an appointment at the consulate, or just do it by mail?
• Where did you have the new passport photos taken?
• If you used your Argentine address, how did you fit that into the fields of the form, which are designed for US addresses?
• Any other advice you can give on things I'm not thinking of.

I have to renew my passport shortly. Any and all advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

My advice is to go to the DHL in Belgrano (Avda. Cabildo 1209, Buenos Aires), the week before your appointment and purchase your prepaid envelope. They are only open Monday through Friday 0900-1800

I received my passport within 10 days. The only real issue that I had is that DHL never delivered the passport to my home address in Capital Federal. They only dropped off the notice that they came by twice. Eventually I went to the DHL office to pick up my passport. The cost was $110.00 (but I paid in pesos at the official rate) for the passport and I think that the DHL prepaid envelope was like 65 pesos.

 

[AmigoArtistico]

My question about the address is not where to go in Buenos Aires.

The question is, how do you fit a Buenos Aires address on the US passport renewal form, which is designed for US addresses, and doesn't have nearly enough fields to put an Argentine address for Capital Federal (nor the codigo postal, for which it wants a US zip code)?

Has anybody done this? Does the passport come back without being rejected and with all the address fields on the passport looking correct?

( I suppose I should re-download the form to see if it's changed, but the last time I tried to fill it out, I ended up just throwing my hands up in the air. I also wonder if this was the reason that they now require appointments and that you can no longer renew passports by mail -- to many errors filling out the renewal form.)

I suppose that there are more offices for DHL than in Belgrano. The last I knew, there was one at the consulate. In any case, I sure as hell hope I don't have to go all the way to Av. Cabildo.

 

[Johnny]

My question about the address is not where to go in Buenos Aires.

The question is, how do you fit a Buenos Aires address on the US passport renewal form, which is designed for US addresses, and doesn't have nearly enough fields to put an Argentine address for Capital Federal (nor the codigo postal, for which it wants a US zip code)?

Has anybody done this? Does the passport come back without being rejected and with all the address fields on the passport looking correct?

( I suppose I should re-download the form to see if it's changed, but the last time I tried to fill it out, I ended up just throwing my hands up in the air. I also wonder if this was the reason that they now require appointments and that you can no longer renew passports by mail -- to many errors filling out the renewal form.)

I suppose that there are more offices for DHL than in Belgrano. The last I knew, there was one at the consulate. In any case, I sure as hell hope I don't have to go all the way to Av. Cabildo.

As I understand it you do have to go to the DHL office in Belgrano, as they are the office with an agreement with the Embassy. I went today.

As regards the address issue, apparently the address listed on the application form is moot as the address you give DHL will be the one used for delivery of the passport.

Hope this helps !

 

[pitipur]

And they're acceptable for US passports? I ask because 10 years ago the photo rules used to be really strict, but even looking on the US govt website, it seems that things have changed some.

Yes - well you need to know what kind of photo you need still. When I went for my visa, I told them the size and color background I needed, so you'll need that info.

 

[JoeGillis]

My question about the address is not where to go in Buenos Aires.

The question is, how do you fit a Buenos Aires address on the US passport renewal form, which is designed for US addresses, and doesn't have nearly enough fields to put an Argentine address for Capital Federal (nor the codigo postal, for which it wants a US zip code)?

Has anybody done this? Does the passport come back without being rejected and with all the address fields on the passport looking correct?

( I suppose I should re-download the form to see if it's changed, but the last time I tried to fill it out, I ended up just throwing my hands up in the air. I also wonder if this was the reason that they now require appointments and that you can no longer renew passports by mail -- to many errors filling out the renewal form.)

I suppose that there are more offices for DHL than in Belgrano. The last I knew, there was one at the consulate. In any case, I sure as hell hope I don't have to go all the way to Av. Cabildo.

I renewed my passport last year in February at the embassy here in BA. Since I'm a permanent resident, I used my BA address. Re the renewal form and the address field, I was somewhat stymied by the lack of space, so I went to my embassy appointment with the address field left blank. The embassy passport representative simply filled in the blank spaces for me! No problem.

Also, please note that you can pickup your new passport at the embassy instead of going through the DHL hassle. I was sent an email when it was ready for pickup. My new passport was ready in one week.

 

[AmigoArtistico]

As I understand it you do have to go to the DHL office in Belgrano, as they are the office with an agreement with the Embassy. I went today.

That really sucks!

As regards the address issue, apparently the address listed on the application form is moot as the address you give DHL will be the one used for delivery of the passport.

It's far from moot. What if the passport application is rejected by the US because of a badly formed address on the application? What if they list the address incorrectly on the passport, making it useless as a document here in Argentina?

Have you looked at the application form? It wants the address in the standard US form: Name, address, city, state, zip. My address here doesn't come close to fitting that form.

I'm not concerned that my passport will find its way back to me via DHL.

I'm concerned that it is correct, and not rejected by some bureaucrat in the states because my address doesn't fit the standard form.

 

[AmigoArtistico]

I renewed my passport last year in February at the embassy here in BA. Since I'm a permanent resident, I used my BA address. Re the renewal form and the address field, I was somewhat stymied by the lack of space, so I went to my embassy appointment with the address field left blank. The embassy passport representative simply filled in the blank spaces for me! No problem.

Also, please note that you can pickup your new passport at the embassy instead of going through the DHL hassle. I was sent an email when it was ready for pickup. My new passport was ready in one week.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

 

[jantango]

Here is a tip from an Argentine I met at the Embassy during Voting Day 2012. He got citizenship in the USA many years ago and moved back to BA.

He showed me his USA ID card, something I didn't know existed. You can get one when renewing your passport. When the police ask him for an ID in Buenos Aires, he produces his USA ID card, not his DNI. He gets better treatment that way.

 

[mmoon]

Great advice here.
One more thing, in case you get your photo taken at a random place that isn't accustomed to US passport requirements, make sure you don't smile in your photos and that it is only a focused headshot. I find it hard not to smile for all photos...such is the American way!

 

[jantango]

Also, please note that you can pickup your new passport at the embassy instead of going through the DHL hassle. I was sent an email when it was ready for pickup. My new passport was ready in one week.

I had my appointment on Tuesday for a new passport and card. I arrived before 9:30 for my 10:00 appointment. My number was called at 10:10 and I was out the door at 10:30.

I asked about notification by email when my passport was ready -- IT'S NO LONGER AN OPTION. Today I went to DHL in Belgrano and paid 160 pesos for each package: the passport within two weeks and the card in two months. That applies for service in the city.