Ohdanigirl Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 I am in Mexico and really need a Passport, I have been trying for two years to get a copy of my BC from Texas (originals were destroyed). I sent a request through the mail and never got a response. I requested online, credit card was charged but nothing. I have called and they are no help. The deadline is coming up pretty fast and dh has decided we should just head to Texas, couldn't until now. Will it be that easy or will I show up in Harris Town and find that I can't just walk in a request it. Can I turn the trip in to something nice for the two of us? Is there a HS conference anywhere around there in the near future? Why is it so difficult to get this done? Anybody else have this problem? Danielle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-2-7 Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 Have you tried contacting your senator? About 3 or 4 years ago, we were attempting to get a passport for our ds who we were in the process of adopting from the Philippines. We sent in the paperwork and never heard a thing. I called about twice a week and never got anywhere. This went on for about 6 months or so. Finally we contacted our senator and we had the passport in our hands within a week! Worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagnfun Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 I am in Mexico and really need a Passport, I have been trying for two years to get a copy of my BC from Texas (originals were destroyed). I sent a request through the mail and never got a response. I requested online, credit card was charged but nothing. I have called and they are no help. The deadline is coming up pretty fast and dh has decided we should just head to Texas, couldn't until now. Will it be that easy or will I show up in Harris Town and find that I can't just walk in a request it. Can I turn the trip in to something nice for the two of us? Is there a HS conference anywhere around there in the near future? Why is it so difficult to get this done? Anybody else have this problem? Danielle Can you call and ask for help? I know in California I can walk into the county records office & get a BC on the spot. I think they only have from like 1960 to current though. Same with marriage certs. Do you need a passport to enter the US from Mexico? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohdanigirl Posted April 19, 2009 Author Share Posted April 19, 2009 I'm in Mexico, but I'm sure my Father could help with that. Good idea. What really gets me is that they have recieved payment and when I call they say just keep waiting, or there is no record, or it's going out in the next week (18 mo ago). Why isn't this centralized so you can get a birth certificate in any state regardless of which state we were born in? And if the web site say 2 weeks, I expect it to be no more that 6 wks, we are talking about the gov. LOL Thanks, I'll try that first thing Monday. Danielle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohdanigirl Posted April 19, 2009 Author Share Posted April 19, 2009 Can you call and ask for help? I know in California I can walk into the county records office & get a BC on the spot. I think they only have from like 1960 to current though. Same with marriage certs. Do you need a passport to enter the US from Mexico? I have called and they are no help. I get one answer one day and another the next. I don't want to trust what they tell me, then get there and be turned away. At the moment the passort is only needed when entering via plane or boat, I get around it by driving accross through San Diego when we visit. Come the end of June it is mandatory, even though all my children have passports, BC that say mother born in US with my name on them, and I have a Ca. DL. Even now I have trouble the few times I have crossed. Plus dh has been laid off, and we have decided he will expand his job search to Canada and overseas, so I really need it. Well, I could get out of the US, just might not get back in:001_huh:. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 We're in Okinawa, Japan. It took forever for our friends to get a copy of their marriage license to get a passport for their newborn they had over here. They kept requesting it and kept getting back letters saying only the people listed on the marriage certificate can request it. (duh - they WERE the people on the certificate!) Turns out they need a notarized signed copy. Information that wasn't listed ANYWHERE! It was very frustrating. But that could also be part of your problem. Are you sending notarized requests with your signature? I also second the contact your congressman. Coming over here it was taking months for my son's new passport. With days to go we contacted the congressman's office. We were in San Antonio, Texas, and it is so heavy with AF and military, and there were so many military people with the same problem, they had someone specifically handling all the passport issues. As soon as I opened my mouth they knew what I was talking about. They were a great help. Do you have a US address? You may have to go through your father's if not. My only other suggestion is the American Embassy in Mexico. Have you talked to them? Our friends were adopting out of central America the same time we were dealing with our passport issues. Once the papers went through, the baby was given a US passport within days, all done through the embassy. They should be able to use your current passport for id. Or do you have a copy of your old expired passport? That's what I used once. Good luck. It's very frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohdanigirl Posted April 19, 2009 Author Share Posted April 19, 2009 We started at the Embassy, and they wouldn't even give me passports fr any of our children til we brough in a box of things they requested. Hospital records, bands, sonograms, proof of pregnancy, taxes, old schol pictures. They said that the Passports we had prove nothing, ironic. All the while I sat in the office watching people walk in with this story: I was born in the US but came bacj to Mexico when my mother was deported, need a passport, or now I need to make my child a US cit born abroad since I am US born. None of them spoke English and they had an easier time than me. :glare: I felt like a criminal and left in tears. I think things have just changed in the last few years. It was the strangest exp. and I found out that a lot of the people at my husbands job had this same exp. So here we are now. But I think going to may fathers Congrssman may help. I am visiting Ca. now, so I am not leaving til this is done, whether I take a trip to Texas or not. I just keep telling myself that it will fall in to place. I am beginning to wonder if my paents lied to me and I don't realy exist. LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 That is really strange. The BCs in Texas (as in other places) are only obtainable from the county clerk in which a person was born. If the request is sent to the wrong county, then obviously nothing will happen (I'm not saying you did this - just that some people think "I'll just request it from Austin" and that doesn't work). The "a US Passport isn't proof" line sounds like crap. While a person does have to have a BC to apply for a passport (even a renewal), no one should be telling you that a US issued passport doesn't count for anything - that is just short of telling you that you made it on your home computer (IMO). Most "passport clerks" are extremely low level people at embassies. They may or may not have any experience with what they are actually doing (they are usually literally paper pushers). You have the right to ask to talk to the Consular officer about the problem (it is their job to fix things like this) Barring that, call the state dept. directly and point out the run-around you are getting. (and no, they still won't issue anything w/o that BC, but your local embassy staff shouldn't be applying 2 different standards, and someone needs to know that. asta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate CA Posted April 19, 2009 Share Posted April 19, 2009 That is really strange. The BCs in Texas (as in other places) are only obtainable from the county clerk in which a person was born. If the request is sent to the wrong county, then obviously nothing will happen (I'm not saying you did this - just that some people think "I'll just request it from Austin" and that doesn't work). Yes, this has been our experience too. You cannot just contact the state - it has to be the county where the child (or you) were born. (At least that is how it has been in CA.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohdanigirl Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 Oh yeah, I contacted the exact county. They even charged my card...but I'm over that part. Getting mad is just wasted energy, so I will go to the local Congressional office and if that doesn't work Texas here we come. I just needed to vent. The funny thing is that even with my kids having all their papers in order it was hard to get them, then I find out I could have come to the states and done it through the post office no problem. I think we'l just turn it into a nice road trip or couples get away. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Do you think they didn't mail it to you at all, or do you think the postal system was a problem? Where you having them mailed to you mexico or to your dad's in the states? I'd be worried about it making it to me if I was relying on some clerk to fill out the paperwork to mail it international. I have enough issues some days for people to send things to APO and the one little form needed for that. I once got told they couldn't ship something to me because Apo (said as a word, not three seperate letters) isn't one of the 52 states. ???? Yeah that one was fun. I got the manager went off on how yes, they do ship to APO, and maybe they should re-think their hires if their employees (living in Florida, not outsourced to India or anything) didn't know there were only 50 states! But yes, if you can go and do it in person, I'd do that. And I'd pay and get mulitple copies. Maybe leave a few copies in your dad's document safe, as well as copies for you. Just so you don't have to deal with this again in 10 years. Good luck. Belive me, after some of the stuff we dealt with, and have seen since coming her, you have my sympathy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohdanigirl Posted April 20, 2009 Author Share Posted April 20, 2009 They told me it hasn't been sent. It's suppossed to be mailed to my dad (multiple copies), but they say it has to be done in order of request. I requested them two years ago.:glare: Maybe I'm getting closer to the top of the list, LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renthead Mommy Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Maybe I'm getting closer to the top of the list, LOL. That's quite a list! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohdanigirl Posted April 21, 2009 Author Share Posted April 21, 2009 hey, party pooper. I'm being realistic...right? LOL:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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