Passport post-washing machine.

mikecweb

mikecweb

Well-Known Member
So I do the wash for the first time since being married and I left my passport in my back pocket. Its pretty bent up and some of the stamps are faded. Has this happened to anyone else? Did customs give you problems? Work has me international usually a few times a month so I'm worried about being stuck or getting grief from US Customs. Hate to renew with half it's life still left.
 
Not quite the exact situation as you are in, but I had an international student (on a foreign passport) go "swimming" with his a couple years ago. There was some loss in translation as to how it happened, but bottom line, when we ended up speaking to the state department about it, the answer was if the Identification information, picture, and Visa were clear, legible, and undamaged then it was fine, the rest didn't matter. He ended up having to go and get his passport and visa renewed.
 
Go get a second passport. As a US crew member, you are allowed to have a second one for visa purposes. I think there is still info on here about how to do it, but if not, here are the basics:

1. fill out application
2. provide money
3. have job write a letter stating you need a second passport.

They are good for 2 years. As for your first one...don't know. I am paranoid about mine, so I don't know what the requirements are.
 
if you don't get a new passport, as stated as long as the important info is unblemished, you will be okay. (I washed mine too)
 
I've done it twice. If it doesn't go through the dryer it's still OK most of the time. Last time it happened, I think I set up a hair dryer next to mine then stacked about 5 textbooks on top of it to flatten it back out once it was dry. The cover is a bit tattered but the pages are still ok; I haven't had any problems with it yet. I hear Costa Rica is the pickiest but Germany, Belgium (snicker), Mexico, Canada, China, Australia, UAE, Thailand, and New Zealand haven't seemed to mind mine.
 
I did that to mine a few years back. I just pulled out and iron and dried the pages. US, Canada, and Mexico customs never questioned it.
 
That happened to my brother a few years back and BA wouldn't let him fly to Germany as the photo page was slightly damaged, so if there's any doubt I would get it renewed (given that I seriously doubt that the UK is more stringent than the US when it comes to border controls). For domestic flights they don't tend to be quite so strict, at least in Europe.
 
I sent mine through the washer and dryer a while back. I commuted from STT for several months and have been to Ireland, France and Mexico since then. No issues with customs, but sometimes the scan strip on the bottom doesn't work and they have to enter the number manually. Gave it a nice, worn in texture.
 
Mine was washed over a year ago. I've had no problems with it. A MSP customs guy gave me a hard time because he believed it didn't work. He told me not to come back through there without a new one. It works fine though. I've been to Canada and Mexico with it.
 
/7500

Last night I had this weird dream for the first time. I was an ambo pilot meeting my pax on a dock. They had flown by seaplane to where I could take them on the next leg. Anyway, I go to help one of the family members with her carry-on and my shiny slippery cell phone launches out of my hand to skip on the dock then careen off a cleat and into the drink. I'm right behind it and almost caught it but it slipped out of my fingers into the murky depths. I straighten up half soaked with a c'est la vie look on my face. Then I relaize my passport was in my shirt pocket but not anymore. I catch a final glimpse of it too sinking out of view. Sucks Worse, we were in Canada on our way back to the states.

And yes, I do have vivid dreams.
 
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