Wet Passport

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AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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Well, you all know that our US home was flooded by Hurricane Sandy, almost 3' of water in our basement. We had a big safe down there with all our documents and some jewelry, which we THOUGHT was waterproof, but wasn't. Our passports were soaked for 6 days.

We dried them out, and they look pretty good, a little wrinkly but all the print is intact as are the photos, etc. I've now been told that we cannot use them, 'they will not scan'. Passports are from 2005, I don't think they have any chip in them, or am I wrong??

Because they are considered "damaged", it's the same as being lost - i.e. a whole rigamarole to replace it. Believe it or not, you can't use a "damaged" passport to get a new one. You have to present a whole lot of "stuff", including proof that you're a US citizen. I have my original birth certificate. Check. His naturalization papers were in the safe, they didn't survive.

Today I called the County Clerk for help. He tells me that to get a replacement naturalization certificate takes at least 3 months and up to 9 month. Our tickets are for mid-March.

Has anyone ever travelled with a passport that was wet, i.e. run through the washing machine? I have visions of getting to the airport and being denied passage. Or not being let back into the US.

County Clerk is going to try to locate his original naturalization application from 1981 because he's sure it will have his naturalization # on it, and "maybe" they will accept that.

Part of me wants to just show up at the airport with the wrinkly passports, but the other part of me is chicken.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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WHO" told you that they are "No Good"?????
Call the nearest passport office, ask them.
Maybe you have to take the passport there to see if they "Scan"????
"Free Advice" is not always "Good Advice"!
CCCCCC
 
May 29, 2006
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I just got my new passport and my old one had gone for a couple of swims. Some damage on the stamps but the print was still good and the photo intact.

Can you go to the DMV and get the card version of the Passport that is also your driver's license? I'm not sure if that works for the DR. I think you can have that as well as the regular PP.

Have you sent the Passport in? I just filled out a form I printed from online, had photos done at the Post Office and sent it in. My bet is if you mail it, they can check it against a digital copy of the old one. County Clerks are not known for being helpful..
 

karlheinz

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Oct 2, 2006
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replacing a Naturalization Certificate is also an expensive process....in tune of about $385 US.
I'd just try the "sorry it got wet approach" and leave it at that.
 

AlterEgo

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I just got my new passport and my old one had gone for a couple of swims. Some damage on the stamps but the print was still good and the photo intact.

Can you go to the DMV and get the card version of the Passport that is also your driver's license? I'm not sure if that works for the DR. I think you can have that as well as the regular PP.

Have you sent the Passport in? I just filled out a form I printed from online, had photos done at the Post Office and sent it in. My bet is if you mail it, they can check it against a digital copy of the old one. County Clerks are not known for being helpful..

I have not sent in the passport - it's not expired until 2015, so not eligible for replacement now. They don't even have to check against a digital copy - this one is perfectly readable, but the passport office is sure it won't scan.

Dumb question..... can I go to an airport and ask them to see if it will scan????
 

AlterEgo

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Jan 9, 2009
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WHO" told you that they are "No Good"?????
Call the nearest passport office, ask them.
Maybe you have to take the passport there to see if they "Scan"????
"Free Advice" is not always "Good Advice"!
CCCCCC

The US Passport office told me it's no good. Might be an idea to drive to Philadelphia to see what they say in person.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
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Jan 9, 2009
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I just got my new passport and my old one had gone for a couple of swims. Some damage on the stamps but the print was still good and the photo intact.
.

Peter, did you ever use your old passport after it was wet????? Any problems??
 

Chirimoya

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2002
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I have experience of this but that was pre 911. Backpackers' passports absorb gallons of sweat, mould themselves to the shape of your body and have an occasional swim. Border officials would look at them with distaste - who could blame them? But I never heard of any cases where it rendered them invalid.
 

sayanora

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Feb 22, 2012
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Peter, did you ever use your old passport after it was wet????? Any problems??

I was denied entry on a flight from Buenos Aires to Miami like a year ago because my passport wouldn't scan in the machine. I was astonished he couldn't just enter my passport numbers in but it didn't work that way. I moved out of line and went into a different guys line and my passport scanned just fine.. saved a lot of time and hassle doing that just because the guys machine was messed up maybe.
 

Koreano

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Jan 18, 2012
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I have just traveled with washer&dryer cleaned passport couple of weeks ago. I just went to the airport and let them take care of the business. I don't know how FUBR your passport is but my passport is still good readable and all the pages are intact but it had wrinkles, all the stamps were washed out and the cover had some threads showing. I had no problem going through DR or US immigration. I noticed when I fly out from DR my passport didn't scan so they entered my info with keyboard and she stamped and off I went.
 
May 29, 2006
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Peter, did you ever use your old passport after it was wet????? Any problems??

Yes I did, a couple times.

I'm looking at it now. A bit dog-eared, water-stained and minor scorch marks from when it fell off the bed onto an electric heater. Scorched over back bar code, but readable Not warped or wrinkly though. Signature blurry. It was worse when it first got wet, but maybe I pressed it between some books.

Maybe they mean it won't physically run through some machine that scans them automatically and then keeps a record of it. They may have also dealt with other passports damaged in Sandy and decided not to try to sort them out.
 

Tarheel

Well-known member
Dec 19, 2005
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A good resource to solve this problem is your local congressman or senator's office. They will help you and not give you the runaround.
 

DavidZ

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Aug 29, 2005
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I had a washed and dryed passort...that was dog-eared, stamps faded, and the photo was cracked. Used it over a dozen times, only had slight issues a couple of times, but always let through. I finally replaced it at the Miami passport agency, In person....didn't need any special documentation, but they did keep the old passport since it was damaged...
 

gandolf50

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Apr 17, 2011
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Your passport can be rejected in any country at the whim of the immigration officer. I have had employees denied entry just because their passport was creased and a little dog eared but fine otherwise or because it had a oil stain. Its the luck of the draw. I think it would benefit anyone whose passport is in less then "good " condition to replace it at their convenience and not when it becomes a emergency.
 

Auryn

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2012
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Try carefully ironing them? It might help a little with the wrinkles. The first page of mine is laminated so I wouldn't attempt that, but the one with the bar code are plain paper and might come out okay if you put a towel or sheet on top. I would then try the airport to see if it will scan ahead of time. Its possible that they would do it.
 

Auryn

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Apr 22, 2012
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Your passport can be rejected in any country at the whim of the immigration officer. I have had employees denied entry just because their passport was creased and a little dog eared but fine otherwise or because it had a oil stain. Its the luck of the draw. I think it would benefit anyone whose passport is in less then "good " condition to replace it at their convenience and not when it becomes a emergency.

Except when that emergency was Hurricane Sandy and your safe was supposed to have been waterproof.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
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Jan 9, 2009
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Just got a Facebook message from a high school friend - he's a terminal manager for a major airline at Philadelphia. Says they can enter the info manually, that a lot of undamaged passports won't scan, but not sure if TSA will accept the wrinkly passport. He'll find out tomorrow and let me know.

Trying to think positive. Imagining that they will not let me leave DR. Can think of worse things than that.
 

vacanodr

New member
Jun 10, 2012
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Well, you all know that our US home was flooded by Hurricane Sandy, almost 3' of water in our basement. We had a big safe down there with all our documents and some jewelry, which we THOUGHT was waterproof, but wasn't. Our passports were soaked for 6 days.

We dried them out, and they look pretty good, a little wrinkly but all the print is intact as are the photos, etc. I've now been told that we cannot use them, 'they will not scan'. Passports are from 2005, I don't think they have any chip in them, or am I wrong??

Because they are considered "damaged", it's the same as being lost - i.e. a whole rigamarole to replace it. Believe it or not, you can't use a "damaged" passport to get a new one. You have to present a whole lot of "stuff", including proof that you're a US citizen. I have my original birth certificate. Check. His naturalization papers were in the safe, they didn't survive.

Today I called the County Clerk for help. He tells me that to get a replacement naturalization certificate takes at least 3 months and up to 9 month. Our tickets are for mid-March.

Has anyone ever travelled with a passport that was wet, i.e. run through the washing machine? I have visions of getting to the airport and being denied passage. Or not being let back into the US.

County Clerk is going to try to locate his original naturalization application from 1981 because he's sure it will have his naturalization # on it, and "maybe" they will accept that.

Part of me wants to just show up at the airport with the wrinkly passports, but the other part of me is chicken.


My crazy ex wife threw my passport into the ocean near Punta Cana and I swam into the water and took it out and dried it off in the hot sun. I used it for years afterwards. Passports can be used as documentation and as long as it can be swiped and the bar code can be read and the date of birth can be read and you have a driver's license and social security card. I think you can use it. You might want to check with a professional but the biggest issue I ever had was resolved as soon as I showed my license.
 
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