US Passport changes
 

US boosts passport fees, sets value of citizenship
By Matthew Lee
Associated Press / February 2, 2012

WASHINGTON—U.S. citizenship is priceless to some, worthless to others. But now the State Department has a dollar figure: U.S. citizenship is worth $450.

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Click to raise your voice on these issues.At least that's what it will cost you to renounce it.

Under new consular fees published Thursday in the Federal Register, the cost of processing a formal renunciation of U.S. citizenship skyrocketed from $0 to $450. The announcement locks in fee hikes that had been proposed in 2010 and instituted on an interim basis.

The State Department doesn't say how or why it calculated the cost. Citizenship is free for most Americans who are accorded the privilege at birth. The department says only that it "has decided that the renunciant should pay this fee at the visit during which he or she swears the oath of renunciation."

It's also getting more expensive if you want to keep your U.S. citizenship and need a passport to prove it. The application fee for a passport is jumping by 27 percent, from $55 to $70 with a 100 percent increase, from $20 to $40, in the passport security surcharge.

In addition to the increase in the application fee, the department will now charge $82 -- up from nothing -- to add new pages to a U.S. passport. It says the fee is needed to offset the cost of the pages, the time spent affixing the pages into the passport book, endorsing the passport and performing a quality-control check.

And, registering the overseas birth of an American child is going up as well. It will now cost $100 to apply for a report of a birth abroad, up from $65.

The cost of getting a document notarized at a U.S. embassy abroad is also going up. The new price is $50 for a single page, up from $30, according to the new fee schedule.

Keep any comments related to the OP.

Thank you.

deleted!
Because I CAN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CC

Good information. Thank you. Good to know that the fees are keeping up with the value of the good ol' dollar!! http://www.dr1.com/forums/images/smilies/happy.gif

HB

Good information - Americans who renounce their citizenship are no longer squeezed for the tax on their Worldwide income. There are much kinder regimes out there where only remitted income is taxed.
Many decide it un-Americanize. Other passports including DR are possible. Many do it; so no wonder fees are going up.

pi2

Should be $10,000 dollars!
It's worth it!
CC

Thank you. Good to know that the fees are keeping up with the value of the good

Dominican Passport...HERE I COME!!!!

Should be $10,000 dollars!
It's worth it!
CC ------------------------------
As opposed to what?

Does that mean it now costs $110 to renew a passport?

Yup I paid almost $ 150. this month for new one including a pass port card..

Still waiting, I'm very exited to have a passport you can use to travel anywhere in the world with no hassles of visas requirements...

JJ

http://www.dr1.com/forums/images/smilies/ermm.gif Yes, but where will you GO with it? http://www.dr1.com/forums/images/smilies/surprised.gif

There are about 40 Countries she can go with it, possibly more. Argentina, Phillipines, Israel, and Japan to name a few.

Yes, I do know about the list. Chile is probably the one location I would like to visit that is on the list. Perhaps Argentina and Japan.

The rest of them are of little interest, so I would find it difficult to have only a DR passport. If I ever found it advantageous to become a dual citizen, I doubt I would bother to get a DR passport.

Friend of mine renewed to day said cost him 4200 pesos plus the delivery fee which was 360.