PASSPORTS

Emergency Passports

Emergency passport are issued only for emergency travel, including cases where waiting for the full-validity passport to arrive from the United States would cause the applicant medical, personal, financial or other hardship.  This includes victims of serious crime and tourists whose passports are lost or stolen.  Same-day issuance is available for applications that are complete and straightforward.  In some cases, however, we may be required to refer the application for additional processing; therefore, some cases may take longer.

NOTE: Emergency passport applications must be made in person.

Application Requirements

The requirements for emergency passports, including fees, are the same as those for full-validity passports, with two exceptions:

• If you normally live in India, please provide four passport photos (rather than the normally required two) so we can also process a full-validity passport application for you simultaneously. In this scenario, you should complete two identical passport application forms. 
• If you lost your U.S. passport, please provide one additional passport photo so that we may assist you in applying for an exit visa.

The application instructions depend on the age of the applicant and length of time since the applicant was last issued a passport.

When your emergency travel has been completed, what you do next will depend on where you live. If you live in India, you will simply return your emergency passport to us for cancellation, and we will return it to you along with your new, full-validity passport. If you live outside India, you can either submit your application for a full-validity passport (using Form DS-5504) to any U.S. embassy or consulate abroad or, if in the United States, to your local passport agency. There will be no additional cost for the full-validity passport as long as the emergency passport is still valid and is presented for cancellation. If the emergency passport expires or is lost before you apply for the full-validity passport, the application fees must be paid again.