What if you go to the Embassy and don't have an appt?

Hi!  My appt for applying for my baby's passport (and registering a birth abroad) is a month away.  I would really like to get in sooner and apply for the passport.

When I was at the Embassy last week to have documents notarialized, there were two lines and it seemed that there was one for those who had appts and those who did not (for passports).

Is it possible to show up and wait in line to apply for a passport without an appt?  Now I wish we'd just done all this when we were there last week.

For what you want to do - register your baby's birth and apply for his/her passport - you HAVE to have an appointment.  It's my understanding that they will not see you for that sort of thing without an appointment.

I'm afraid you'll just have to wait for your scheduled appointment.

Thank you!  I wonder what the two lines outside the Embassy were...I got to go straight away inside because I was in the line for 'American Services'!   Hmmm...got to find out what that other line was, maybe someone here can help.

We met one family who didn't have an appt and they did get their baby boy registered and applied for his passport.  They had to wait an hour but that's not long at all at the Embassy!

The two lines were most likely visa application lines - one line for visitor and work visas, one line for family visas, I think. American citizen services doesnt have an official line, at least not that Im aware of.

You'll find all the info on applying for a child's passport and or registering the birth of a child here: http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_web/acs/passports/childindex.htm - Please take special note of the "Applying for a child's first passport" section. If that doesnt answer your question you should call or email the embassy.

Sarah

Thanks, MarsBar.   That website is helpful, isn't it?  We've had all our paperwork filled out (but not signed of course!!), photos, long birth cert, all that for months now.  Just wish we could get in to apply already.

There was a sign that read 'American Citizen Services' and that was the line we were in just before being screened for security in that trailer thing outside the embassy.  The other line must be for visas, you're right.

I'm afraid you'll just have to wait for your scheduled appointment.

Well we didn't have to wait at all!     We went to the Embassy without any appointment and registered his birth, applied for the SSN, Passport, paid and voila.  All finished and they couldn't have been nicer.  Now we wait to receive our VDS parcel with his passport and we can be off to Finland like we planned.

In case anyone is reading this and planning to go to the Embassy this week, they made a decision to close the Embassy all day on June 11, 2004 in memory of Ronnie.  Just a heads up!

Great! Glad everything went swimmingly for you.

I feel really bad for those poor people who had visa interviews on the 11th! Nightmare! But oh well, the tubes are supposed to be out of service on the 11th anyway I think. Thanks for the heads up tho - Martin and I were about to head down there to do some SSA stuff.

Have a fun time in Finland!

I'm glad it worked out well for you! I must say though, when I went a few weeks ago there was a lady with baby right in front of me, and they were told to go home becuase they didn't have an appointment. She fussed and was horrible and cried, but they still sent her home because she hadn't made an appointment. So I think you're quite lucky - it's not something I'd suggest people do just because of what I saw... glad it worked out for you though. 

I hear what you are saying Marlespo and I agree it is best to have an appointment but it is curious as there are clearly displayed in boxes at the Embassy for processing the passport paperwork and the two boxes at each station read:  'With Appointments' and 'Without Appointments' respectively.

So there must be some established procedure for processing passport applications/renewals sans appointment.  We were asked along the way if we had an appointment and we answered, 'no' and were handled with kindness and extreme promptness, despite the full room of waiting folks.  There was no place to sit there were so many people waiting for their passport appointment.  From the time we arrived to the end of the process, it was 1.5 hours.

I must say, too, I have had nothing but the best interactions with all the Embassy employees, every time we go there.  Every time we need the notarial service, or a passport issue or some other thing, every employee has been so friendly and kind to us.