New Passport Rules

[scarberiankhatru]

They were here in the first place.

 

[AndreaPalladio]

A dentist, a doctor, a chiropractor, an optometrist, a pharmacist, a school principal, a veterinarian, an accountant ... all kinds of people can act as guarantors.

But 20 minutes? What are you, AP, a member of the diplomatic corps? Last time I got mine renewed ( 2004 ) I had to line up for an hour at that horrid government office in the Arcade, starting at 8 a.m., just to get in the door.

Went at lunch in December. Easy in, easy out. I guess people were shopping.

 

[AndreaPalladio]

Passports cost quite a bit of money, AP. That's an issue for some people. It also makes spur-of-the-moment trips much more difficult, the kind that make up a lot of southern Ontario's tourism (the family from Kentucky up to see Niagara Falls realizing that the view's better from the Canadian side). Until recently, you also need a guarantor. That may also be more difficult for someone who does not work in a law firm as, if I recall correctly, you do.

If people can't afford a passport, how could they afford foreign travel?

 

[ShonTron]

The US isn't exactly foreign travel. Especially if you, like the other 80% of Canadians , live within 200 km of the border.

Well, at least they did away with the guarantor for renewals. That's not the big problem for me, I work in a place full of professors and MDs.

 

[AndreaPalladio]

Still, if one can't afford a passport fee, how could one afford to get to the United States or pay to do anything while there?

 

[Urban Shocker]

I'll miss the guarantor ritual: I only see this person is once every five years, we catch up quickly on what's been happening since the last time, then I'm on my way. This has been going on for a quarter century.

 

[AndreaPalladio]

I still needed a guarantor when I renewed in December. Maybe I'm on some sort of watch list. Or got an old form.

I love being a guarantor, when the call and ask stupid questions.

 

[Urban Shocker]

What do they ask?

 

[AndreaPalladio]

Are you you? Are they they? How long have you known them? How do you know them? I find that usually the people that call are the sort that think using big words will make them seem smarter and more important.

 

[Urban Shocker]

I once guaranteed myself, over the phone, when I opened a bank account. I told the disembodied voice that Urban Shocker does indeed work here and that he is a responsible and highly valued employee.