Posted: July 15, 2010.  I have two late summer trips planned with Giovanna. One to Vermont to visit old and dear friends and the other to France to visit family. Because we are traveling to Europe she will need a U.S. Passport and, due to various reasons, I proscrastinated about completing her application. Mainly because I almost always wait until the very last moment to take care of such mundane details, particularly when they involve bureaucratic agencies, long forms and fees. Thanks to a good friend’s email yesterday afternoon I was notified that the Department of State is raising its fees effective July 13, 2010. Knowing that I would have to pay an extra $20 if I waited any longer somehow made my entire world stop and I could focus only on Giovanna’s passport application. Perhaps that popular phrase, “money talks” is true after all? Less than 12 hours later her passport application was filed with an agent. I had an appointment to take Giovanna’s passport photo yesterday afternoon. I chose to take the photos at Sears Portrait Studio because I had a special savings coupon and I wanted to combine business with pleasure – a set of passport photos and a few cute photos to send out to family members. My friends highly recommend Costco for passport photos and the cost is significantly less than Sears. Costco charges $4.99 and Sears charges $19.99. If you have a coupon I would recommend Sears. Otherwise, go to Costco. Do not assume that if a business shoots passport photos they will correctly shoot your child’s photo. While standing in line at my local Post Office recently I witnessed a passport application become quite uspet because her infant's passport photos were shot incorrectly and she had to pay to have them reshot. If you have a newborn or infant, be sure that your child is seated in a supportive chair to hold their head up properly for the photo. There is a special passport application for Minors Under Age 16 (Form DS-11) and the applicant must be accompanied by both parents when applying for the passport. Form DS-11 sounds so daunting and complicated, but it took me only a couple of minutes complete the form for Giovanna. It is a short simple form that asks for basic information and I filled it out online, printed the form, and took it to be signed by both of us in front of the passport agent. I could not believe that I had procrastinated for months about filling out such a simple form. It took me only a couple more minutes to use the State Department’s search tool to confirm that my local Post Office is the nearest passport agent and to use the USPS search tool  to confirm that the hours and location of my local Post Office matched the information on the State Department's website. Although both websites (and the front window of the Post Office) stated that passport hours are M-F, 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM I was notified that passport applications were accepted by appointment only and that the hours had recently changed. I was able to “sweet-talk” the agent into accepting our application but be sure that you call your local passport agency to ask whether an appointment is necessary and to confirm the hours of operation. If you plan to travel internationally with your little ones anytime soon you should try to beat the July 13, 2010 fee increases and submit your applications now. The entire process for Giovanna was fast and simple and I was able to save $20 by submitting her application this morning. Do not be intimidated by the State Department's description of Form DS-11. Be sure that your passport photos are shot properly and that you call your passport agent to confirm whether or not appointments are necessary. For our family the most difficult part of the application process was rearranging our schedules in order for us to be present to apply in person. Everything else was simple. I am very excited that my daughter is going to have her first passport and I can't wait until it arrives in the mail soon. It will mean that we are one step closer to meeting her paternal family in France.