Passport Photo

[bjarvis]

I finally found a place in the greater DC area which will do photos in a format suitable for Canadian passports. With nothing else planned for this morning, I dashed out to University Blvd & Colesville Rd (about three miles from home) to get the photos while Kent was still getting dressed.



For what it's worth, I hate the new photo requirements. The specification that the picture be taken with a "neutral" (read: blank and/or stoned) expression is utterly unflattering, especially for an official document which has a lifetime of 5 years. What a great way to make a good first impression when visiting a foreign country. :-^ The part that irks me is that the requirement is essentially a concession to automated facial recognition systems and their inability to deal with three-quarter profiles, expressions of happiness/sadness/whatever and the inability of bureaucrats to consider more secure alternatives for official documents.



Now I just have to find a window of opportunity to get downtown to have my would-be guarantor can sign & initial on the dotted lines so I can drop my renewal in the mail.

Comments

[urbear]

But you don't need a valid passport to cross the US/Canada border, assuming that you're a citizen of one of the two countries. All you need is proof of citizenship. A voter's registration card, birth certificate, even an expired passport are all perfectly OK.

That's supposed to change soon... starting at the the end of 2006 they're going to require a passport or certain other (as yet undefined) "secure documents"

Speaking of green cards, I was tempted to post my GC photo but decided against it. Trust me, you're all better off as a result.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

I don't need it for travel per se between Canada and the US, but having the additional border security scribble in my passport which corresponds to my green card tremendously simplifies life. Since my old passport is about to expire, I want to have the new one on hand to obtain the new scribbling as soon as possible. If there's issues with my border documents, I want to know about it during a casual social trip rather than a must-do business trip.

BTW, how's your passport renewal going?

[urbear]

Makes a certain amount of sense...

I noticed that Le Gouvernement charged my card for the birth certificate last week, so I eagerly anticipate receiving it shortly... whereupon I can start the actual renewal process.

In other news, my current passport expired at midnight.