Posted on 05/14/2006 7:01:08 AM PDT by jefferson31415
I have been a lurker here for many years- this is my first post and I apologize if it seems like a vanity.
My passport was lost in the mail when I sent the old one back to the govt get it renewed. The post office records show that it was delivered to me, but I never got it.
I am very worried that it will be misused for some kind of criminal act- smuggling illegal aliens or terrorism.
The post office completely ignored me and the passport office said I should simply file some form. But I do not know if that will actually prevent something bad from happening.
What should I do???
My passport was lost in the mail when I sent the old one back to the govt get it renewed. The post office records show that it was delivered to me, but I never got it.
I am very worried that it will be misused for some kind of criminal act- smuggling illegal aliens or terrorism.
The post office completely ignored me and the passport office said I should simply file some form. But I do not know if that will actually prevent something bad from happening.
What should I do???
jefferson31415
Since Mar 23, 2006
Perhaps you should ask your buddies over DU.
Your question sounds more like something a Demoncrat would ask and waste bandwidth on.
Calling the embassy of your country or this country depending on where your citizenship is, might be a start.
In all these years you never paid your respects with so much as a small post. If you had, the scum that ruined your passport would be suffering this very day.
"when in trouble, when in doubt... run in circles scream and shout ...
I have been enjoying FR since it was linked as "Whitewater Files on Drudgereport.com in 1998. How about you??
i usually use this forum to read- but i am not very vocal.
I loathe DU.
What post office records? Someone else signed for the mail delivery at your doorstep?
Postal theft is a felony and I'm surprised that postal employees weren't more helpful. Whenever you enter a Post Office the sign reminds you that theft of mail or a postal carrier is a felony which will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.
Good Luck
ok i see where this is going....
I can't top that one.
We went to the post office and talked to the manager- apparently the US post office has tracking numbers that they do not usually make public.
They showed it to us, and it says it was delivered.
BTW, I was born in the United States.
At any rate, I think I would file a police report, contact the issuing office (probably that form they want you to fill out will do that) and maybe contact your credit reporting agency. Other than those things, I don't think there's much you can do. If your passport is reported stolen and they give you a new passport #, then if someone tries to use yours through an actual customs entry point, like an airport, it will show up in their database, (I think.)
Since you indicate that you have already talked with the passport office about it, what they tell you, is really all you can do. For what it's worth, the missing passport will be placed on the watch list.
It might be a good idea for you to keep careful watch on your credit card records, bank accounts and credit bureau records for the next several months, just in case your missing passport is used in an identity theft scam.
Also, ignore the idiots on this thread. There are always a few around who think any post that does not echo their thoughts must be from the enemy, whoever that might be.
In all seriousness, if this is your U.S. passport I cannot believe the passport bureau would be uninterested because they should have a procedure for canceling out or flagging a passport that is reported lost or stolen. Also, some law enforcement agency could easily show up if someone uses that passport for an illegal activity. So I'd start with the passport bureau and ask their procedures, file a police report, maybe contact the closest FBI office and ask for advice. Does the State Dept. handle passports? But obviously the passport is gone, no one is going to find it unless it is being used somewhere by the crook.
The State Department website can answer all your questions.
Of course I am concerned for my own situation.
But more than that, I am amazed how relaxed everyone
at the Passport agency is.
After all the problems we have had with security these
last few years, I would think that would have a higher
sense of urgency.....
I'm purely joking above, never implied anything. But I don't understand what you are saying - that the passport is sent to you by regular mail and the post office has a record at your end of what was sent and that it was delivered to you? It's possible they can access the scanning code from each piece of mail and know the sender and addressee, but that sounds unusual to me that they are verifying individual mail. Also, does anyone know are passports sent out regular mail?
It's a nation of 300 milllion plus. Passports are lost and stolen every day. Sad as it may sound, they cannot excitedly respond to every passport gone missing. If I were you I would worry first and foremost about identity theft, because that and not terrorism is teh likeliest motive. Then again I suppose they would eventually sell a passport to smugglers or something. But with computerized systems, a reported passport might be a red flag. Also, your passport could be in a storm drain or wherever it blew into when the postman dropped it.
So here is the procedure I followed:
My passport was about to expire, so I took a new
passport photo of myself and sent my old passport
with some forms to the passport office.
They were supposed to mail me back the new passport
within a month in the regular mail.
It never arrived and I went to the post office and complained. After some arguments, the post office revealed that they have an internal tracking code that they use. Their records show that the passport was delivered to my doorstep.
There are so many illegal aliens who would just love a nice,shiny, new passport
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