My new passport has my name spelled incorrectly and shows that I was born in New Zealand, not New York. My old passport, which was supposed to be mailed back to me, is apparently is lost in the mail, because the State Dept. wrote the wrong address on the envelope. The new one got to me because a smart local postal employee corrected the address.I went back to the passport office. The first time I went, there was nobody waiting. The second time there was also nobody waiting. There were about 5 clerks seemingly not doing much. I went up to the middle desk. The woman asked me if I had a number? THERE IS NOBODY HERE!! I went to the small red machine (remember going into a bakery?) and took a number. It was 15. I went back to the same desk. She takes the number. Her world was ok now. Now her brain can function and answer my questions.
I explained to her my passport problem. She said it was not "their" problem - the Dept. of State screwed up. So, I asked, "what do I do?" "Well"?, she said, "you have to get new passport photos taken and send them back with the incorrect passport, a certified copy of your birth certificate and FORM DS-5504 02-2008 - Application for a U.S. Passport - Name Change, Data Correction and Limited Book Replacement.
If I had any questions, I was to contact the National Passport Information Center (NPIC) at 1-877-487-2778. "Of course", she said, "it would be better if you had your old passport as proof of who you are are and where you were born." Great.
"Well", I ask, "will the Dept. of State refund the extra $10 I have to spend to retake the passport photos?". "No", she replied. So, thank you Homeland Security and my Dept. of State. You screwed up. Is this how you morons are protecting us? Where is my old passport now? Does some guy, who was born in New Zealand, have a new passport with my name, that says he was born in New York?
I really truly don't have time for this.
The photo is from http://www.microframecorp.com/page/M/PROD/TANS/A51201
