With less than five months before my US passport expired, it was time to apply for a new 10-year passport. The first step in this process is to get the right information. As we are located in Cebu, Philippines the "right" place for us is the US Embassy in the Philippines website, APPLY FOR OR RENEW A U.S. PASSPORT. The instructions are straight forward and simple, and a website link is provided to fill out and print the passport application form - DS-82 Application for a U.S. Passport wizard form.
Next step was to get two 2x2-inch color passport photos which we obtained, very close by, at a local photo ID shop in Naga City for 200 pesos (US $4.00) for four pictures. We also made a photocopy of the passport personal data page as it was another stipulated requirement.
To submit the passport application two options were available - in-person or by courier delivery. We decided against courier delivery due to the requirement to get a US-dollar demand draft made out to “U.S. Embassy Manila” from a US approved Philippine bank, of which there are only three. In-person was more convenient for us since there is a US Consular Agency in Cebu City, about an hour's drive away. It is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8:00 am to 10:30 am, and is located on the ground floor of the Waterfront Hotel & Casino, Salinas Dr, Lahug, Cebu City, Cebu.
On 20 December 2018, we left Naga City at around 6 am and drove to the Waterfront Hotel where the US Consulate is located. Traffic was moderate and we arrived a little after 7:30 am and parked in the hotel's inside parking area. As we had been here before we knew to leave cell phone, cameras, and other stuff in the truck, as the consulate security would confiscate them upon entry. We walked the short distance from the parking area to the consulate's door on the ground level of the Waterfront Hotel. A small placard is next to the door that identifies it as a consulate. We were the third arrival, as two other families were already there waiting.
A security guard arrived about 7:50 am, went inside, then came back out, and had each party sign a rooster and state their reason for being there. After he verified our ID - we showed our US passports - he gave us a plastic embossed card with the number 3 on it. Shortly after 8:00 am the guard allowed one family at a time entry. Our turn for entry came up and we went inside, showed our passports again, went through a metal detector, and proceeded to the waiting area and sat down. Shortly thereafter, a elderly man went around the waiting room, greeted each person, asked what they needed, and reviewed their paperwork. We could not avoid hearing his conversation with the family next to us - they wanted a passport renewal for their daughter. They had traveled from a different island and came ill-prepared. In a very respectful and patient tone, the elderly man provided them with a blank passport application and advised them to leave immediately to get passport photos of the daughter and return before they close at 10:30 - they took his advice. He approached us next, reviewed our passport renewal paperwork, and with approval, handed us a address form to fill out for courier delivery of the completed passport. We discovered the nice elderly man was the US Consular Agent, Mr, Glenn Ivan Loop.
We waited our turn for our number to be called and gave the lady at the counter our current passport, the DS-82 passport renewal form, two photos, copy of passport personal data page, the filled out passport shipping address form, and US $110.00. She cancelled our current passport by punching two holes in it and returned it back to us. We asked her how much was needed to pay for shipping the passport and she advised it would be between 120 to 240 pesos, and it would be payable on passport delivery, not to her. We were then told to return to our seats and our name would be called shortly, after everything was reviewed.
When our name was called we entered a separate enclosed room, and behind a protective window was the US Consular Agent, Mr, Glenn Ivan Loop. He stated our paperwork was in order, provided us with a receipt, advised us it would take 4 to 6 weeks for delivery, and wished us well.
It took just over an hour to complete the passport submission. We paid 20 pesos (US $ 0.40) for parking and left the Waterfront Hotel. Our next stop was to a close by Bank of the Philippine Islands branch where we made payment for Marilyn's Philippine Social Security System contributions at the maximum rate for the entire 2019 year. After that we went shopping at S&R Membership Shopping before returning home in Naga City.
On 24 January 2019 we received a cellphone text message from AIR21 that delivery would occur the next day. We waited all day, 25 January, but it was not delivered.
A little after 3 pm, a AIR21 van delivered the package containing the passport and we paid the 120 peso delivery fee (US $ 2.35) .
We opened the package and inside was another envelope that had the copy of old passport data page on it. Inside the envelope was the new passport and a US State Department passport pamphlet.
From submission to receipt of passport 40 days had passed - 5 weeks and 5 days - just within the estimated 4-6 weeks that we were informed.
With passport now in hand we updated our document tracking list to show the next time it was due - 13 January 2029 minus six months. We also made many new copies of the passport data page, as these are needed for many things.
Lastly, now we have a valid US passport, the next bureaucratic item to accomplish is the mandatory Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) Annual Report for registered aliens with an ACR I-Card - governmental bureaucratic red tape never stops!
