Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yaya]

Uncle Sam (or scam) has raised fees for passport services. Adding pages used to be free but will now cost $82 starting Tuesday, July 13.

Renewing an adult passport will go up from $75 to $110.

http://travel.state.gov/news/news_5078.html

I applied to get pages added before the new law takes effect. I know I can use the $82 better than the U.S. government.

[DeMayonnaise]

Good news...I just sent my passport in 2 weeks ago to get pages.

$82 for taping some paper into a book? What a screw.

[AsiaESLbound]

Everything except pay and career opportunities are going up in the world today.

[CentralCali]

Scam? They haven't raised the price in years. And prior to now, you were getting a convenient--not required--service for free. Also, there's more to it than just "taping some paper into a book." Passports have anti-counterfeiting features to them. It's not just paper and not just a book.

[kiknkorea]

[mmstyle]

Thankfully, I just added the pages last month. Should be good for a few more years. As another poster said, everything is going up but wages and job opportunities. This is what happens when the govt gives away trillions of dollars to irresponsible rich bankers so that they can give themselves a raise and we foot the bill.

I wish Michael Hudson ran the US.

[Yaya]

I've made 15 overseas trips since 2005, and I have five more years left on my passport. I never thought I'd need so many pages but then again, that's part of the reason I'm in Korea: the opportunity for frequent travel.

[air76]

$110 for a 10-year passport is a great deal....A LOT of countries have it way worse. New Zealand's passport only lasts for 5 years and costs about the same. It's been $75 for over a decade.

Also...if you request a larger passport when you renew they will give you a 48-page passport, just write a quick letter explaining that you travel a lot and they will do it for free...then you don't have to worry about extra pages.

[dumpring]

Yeah NZ govt is trying to pass that off as a security measure. Yeah right, straight revenue gathering.

[AsiaESLbound]

I thought it was expensive for a federal ID. Do all countries charge a hefty fee for the document? Maybe some issue it for free or charge only a small fee? It seems most Americans don't have a passport. I would guess most people in the world don't have one nor have freedom of movement beyond their borders. In Europe, it tends to be more common for people to have it. I wonder what the E.U. countries charge their citizenry?

[Lee Myung Bak]

[definitely maybe]

Glad I got my new passport in May!

[Milwaukiedave]

[fitzyvt]

For those of you who have added pages here at the Korea US embassy.....

How long does it take?

[Yaya]