₦airaland Forum

[quote author=pointednose post=103402156]Thanks a lot.

I also don't know if one can get a fresh passport but someone posted here about the requirements to get a new passport in Lagos which include a picture of the mother pregnant in the US, mother and child in the US among others. Hopefully, it will be clear soon.

I actually know someone who travelled back to Nigeria from the US with just ETC without a passport.

I was surprised to see that the timeline for the US passports have extended again from the last time I asked about it . It is well.

Thanks


True, like i said the only exception for people to travel with babies with ETC alone was during the lockdown period. I was on one of those flights and I was also in the WhatsApp group. Lots of mothers travelled without a passport for their LO because the Nigerian embassy arranged the Ethiopian flights down to Nigeria during the lockdown and there was no way people could have gotten passports for their babies since everywhere was closed down. But for now, I doubt if any airline would allow any mother board with a baby without a passport, particularly when it is not a flight arranged by the Nigerian embassy

pointednose:
Thanks a lot for this robust feedback. This is a big challenge that people are not talking about which can affect one's travel plan.

Which state are you please?

So you are saying one can process the US passport in Lagos right? So can one just come home to process the US passport in lagos and travel with LO with ETC?

Is the SSN now compulsory for the processing of US
Passport? The last time I used multiple zeros in lieu of SSN. I'm thinking one can ask that SSN be sent to a trusted person who can then send it to one when its ready.

What is the timeline for birth certificate please?

Please will like to know your thoughts on these.


And looking forward to hearing from other Mamas/Papas.

Thank you.

Kentucky.
I am not categorically stating that you can get a new passport at the us embassy in Lagos. I checked their website and it say renewals for minors, nothing about a fresh passport, I know they are making exceptions for people who travelled during Covid. I have no information about this cause I don’t know anyone who have used this route. I dropped this option because I am not sure if FIRST timers are given a us passport in Lagos.

And, no you can not travel with ETC alone, ( I may be wrong though but I highly doubt you can) but I know this exception (ETC alone) was made for people during the covid lockdown period. Every individual including babies must travel with a valid passport.

Having SSN is not compulsory if you do not have one, however if you already applied in the hospital and you are expecting it, given that the processing time for a us passport is now lengthy, there is no guarantee that when they get to your application and try to verify if truly the LO doesn’t have an SSN, what if by then it has been issued? It states on their website that if you do not declare your SSN and it was later discovered that you have one, your application can be delayed or denied and you even pay a penalty fee.
But i think the lengthy processing time for a us passport is a temporary issue, I believe that by September/October when this rush period is over the processing times will reduce again, maybe not to the Pre-pandemic period, because before mid June, expedited used to be 4 to 6weeks and routine 10 to 12 weeks, summer period made it sky rocket to 12 weeks for expedited and 18 weeks for routine.

For birth certificate, I think it depends on your state. I did a walk-in for this and collected it immediately,

Omosholape80:
Hi Everyone,

Please any response on this will be appreciated.

Covid has made things slower. My LO’s SSN came in a month after I gave birth even though I applied at the hospital ( it never used to take that long), not to mention that I kept calling them because their office has been closed since last year March, PreCovid all you needed to do was walk-in to one of their offices but now, you have to call and ask for an appointment and justify the reason why the appointment is a dire need ( they give appointments on dire need basis).

For us passport, it currently takes about 12 weeks to expedite and 18 weeks for routine. Am guessing this is due to high volumes of application during this summer period plus they were closed for many months last year due to covid.
It is almost impossible to expedite at a passport agency or center cause there is always no available appointment online when you check and the customer care number is always engaged. The most available ones are passport acceptance agents at libraries and post offices and you get it back in 12 or 18 weeks depending on which option you choose.

I have also tried exploring the option of getting a Nigerian passport (cause every individual even a baby must travel by air with a passport, the only exception was during the covid period when they had to get people home last year) and getting a US passport at the embassy in Lagos but getting a Nigerian passport isn’t that easy and straightforward too.