Tristan Vick here.
I have to renew my passport in a year. Always a pain. But necessary.
At the same time, I have to renew my daughter’s passport and get my boys first-time passports too.
The thing is though, the government wants to make it as difficult as possible to obtain.
The boys can’t get an American passport without a Social Security Number. Makes sense. But they can’t get a Social Security number without a Consular Report of Birth.
So, this requires 3 separate trips to the U.S. Consulate. Before this, however, I need to have an entire checklist of TRANSLATED documents from the ORIGINAL Japanese documents.
So, I have to go the City Ward Office and obtain the Japanese documents and then translate them all so I can take them to the U.S. Consulate or Embassy.
Each of these trips requires a notary to prove that the Japanese documents came with a translation and that all the documents required were presented.
Notaries only work on Thursdays at the Consulate. So, I can’t just take any day off I like, but it has to be Thursday specifically.
Now, the cost is ridiculous. Here’s the cost breakdown according to the U.S. Embassy in Japan:
Adult Passport renewal: $145 Child (under 16) passport renewal: $115 Report of Birth: $100 Notarial Seal: $50 (If needed)
So, let’s do the math for me and my three children.
Me: $145 (no notary needed) Daughter: $115 Son 1: $115 + $100 RoB Son 2: $115 + $100 RoB
That’s $690 USD and that doesn’t even factor in the fact that we have to travel across the country to a different city separate times. Multiply $50 for gas money x3 = $150 and lunch for the kids while we’re in town with is $50 and that’s an additional $200.
Now, the Japanese documents each cost approximately $30 USD. So I need a:
- Marriage certificate
- Birth certificate
- Acceptance of Birth certificate
- Family Register
(Divorce is the only document I don’t need —also if you have any of these documents on hand you are already saving lots)
So, that’s an additional $30 x4. Another $120.
So, now we’re looking at $1,010 USD just to get my kids passports.
UPDATE:
There are some folks who’ve rightly pointed out you don’t necessarily need the notary for the applications (only if one parent can’t make it) and you can fill out and file all the forms at once, saving a few steps.
So maybe save a few hours and a few hundred dollars. But the cost is still substantial.
Also, as Joe Tomei pointed out, you must book the appointment ahead of time online. They no longer accept same day phone call registration or walk-ins.
Here’s the U.S. Consulate / Embassy website for more: