The thought of losing your passport while traveling overseas is frightening, but fortunately there is an easy precaution that every foreign traveler should take. Complete the form on the Travel Registration page at the US State Department website. This will greatly simplify matters should your passport go missing.
I heard the story of a traveler who, while traveling abroad, unfortunately had his passport stolen. He immediately contacted the US Embassy and because he had completed his online Travel Registration, embassy staff were able to access his stolen information and provide him with a replacement passport in 6 hours! The Embassy said that if he hadn't registered online, this process could have taken several days.
This service has been available for awhile, but most people probably don't know about it. Taking 5 minutes to fill out a simple online registration form is such a simple precaution to take!
copyright (c) 2009 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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