📝 Instructions for Completing Your New Passport (DS-11) Application

Please read these important steps carefully before starting your online application (Walk-in clients may complete and prepare all documents directly at our office):

Step 1 – Start the Application

• Agree to the Privacy Agreement on the first page. On the next page, locate the left-hand column and click “Apply Online” (bottom left).

• Click “Submit” to begin the process.

Step 2 – Select Application Options

• Once application has been completed, on the “Passport Products and Fees” page:

  • Under Processing Methods, choose “Expedited at Agency.” Under Delivery Methods, select “1 to 2 Day.”
    Note: Because Ambassador Passport & Visa Services will hand-carry your application directly to and from the U.S. Department of State, mailing options do not apply to hand-carry applicants.

Step 3 – Finalize and Print

• Before printing, the system will ask you to “Submit in person” or “Locate an agency.”
  🚫 DO NOT SELECT EITHER OPTION

• On the final page (“Next Steps”), check the box confirming “I have read and acknowledge the steps…”. 
  Click “Print Form” (bottom left). Print your application single-sided (do not print double-sided).

• ⚠️ DO NOT SIGN UNTIL APPEARANCE IN FRONT OF ACCEPTANCE AGENT
  You must sign only in front of an authorized Acceptance Agent at the time of your appointment.
  Signing prematurely will invalidate your application.

Step 4 – Submitting Your Application to Ambassador

• If you are a walk-in, all documents can be reviewed and prepared directly at our office.

• Please Note: Once your application has been sealed or executed (meaning you’ve signed it in front of the Acceptance Agent), it is only valid for five (5) business days beyond the day of execution. Therefore, If you are sending your application to Ambassador Passport and Visa Services, we must receive it within 1-2 days at most, to ensure that it can be processed before it expires. 

  
  FAILURE TO SEND OR WALK-IN YOUR DOCUMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS DIRECTLY TO OUR ADDRESS WITHIN ONE TO TWO DAYS MAY RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT DELAYS THAT ARE BEYOND OUR CONTROL.

🌐 Complete Your DS-11 Application Online

Please click here to go through the online process of creating your DS-11 application on the Department of State website

📄 Additional Required Forms (if applicable)

• If your passport has been lost or stolen:
  Complete and sign Form DS-64 (Statement Regarding a Lost or Stolen Passport).

  Please click here for DSP-64 Application Form – Lost Application Form

• For minors under age 16:
  Both parents and the minor child must be present when executing the documents.

  • If only one parent can appear, the other parent must complete and notarize a Consent Form. 
    Note: For minors over age 16, the presence of only one parent is sufficient. 

    Click here for the Parent Consent Form 
    

    If you have any questions or concerns, please call 310-828-7878

Please note: acceptable passport photos are:
• Photographs must be 2 x 2 inches in size, taken within the past 6 months.
• The image size from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head should be between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches.
• No glasses
• The photographs must be in color
• They must be full face, front view with a plain white or off-white background.
• Photographs should be taken without a hat or headgear that obscures the hair or hairline.
• Dark glasses or nonprescription glasses with tinted lenses are not acceptable unless required for medical reasons.
• Home made Digital photographs are not acceptable.

• The printed, completed, and signed Authorization Letter (in blue ink only) should be placed inside a sealed envelope by the Passport Clerk when executing the passport application.  

Click here for the Letter of Authorization – Online Fillable PDF Version.

Make sure the original signed letter of authorization is submitted to the acceptance agent.  
Please note: Electronically signed documents or photocopies are not acceptable, and will cause rejection or significant delays in processing

If you are using a mobile device, and/or have trouble filling out the form online, please click here for a printable-only version that can be filled out by hand in blue ink.

Copy of itinerary or air tickets, hotel reservation, cruise itinerary, or a business letter on employer’s stationery confirming international travel is required.

Click here for a sample of the Business Letter for the Passport Office.

Please complete the Ambassador Passport and Visa Cover Letter (order form):
Click here for Cover Letter

Before the documents are sealed (described in next step) please make copies of:
• All application forms: DS-11 (and DSP-64 if applicable)
• Ambassador Passport and Visa Authorization Letter
• The extra passport photo (one of two passport photos, not a copy)
• Proof of Travel (Travel Itinerary or Business letter)
• Copies of front and back of the State ID or Drivers Licenses (in other words, two sets of copies of front and back, one of which goes inside the acceptance agent’s package)
• Copy of the birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or a previous expired passport
• Ambassador Passport and Visa Services Cover Letter.  Please note: The Cover Letter should not be included inside the sealed envelope at the time of execution.

You will need to send or bring us the above copies, along with the Ambassador Passport and Visa Cover Letter, after the application has been executed (signed) and sealed (placed inside and envelope and date stamped by the govt. agent.

Since we cannot open the sealed envelope you send us, these extra copies should be included inside the Federal Express or UPS envelope shipped to Ambassador Passport and Visa Services. Failure to provide us with copies may result in significant delays or rejection of your passport application.

The applicant must appear in person at the acceptance agent to complete this step of the application process. 

If applicant is a minor under the age of 18, please Click Here for the requirements to obtain a minor’s passport:  

Please note, if you are within driving distance or would like to appear in person at our offices, the execution of the documents can also be performed at our designated local Acceptance Agent. 

When you appear before the local acceptance agent, inform them that you are processing your passport application through an expediting agency or a “hand carry” agent.

Upon completing the process, the acceptance agent will place the necessary documents in a sealed envelope and return it to you. Important: Do not open or tamper with the sealed envelope. It must be sent or delivered to our office immediately, as the documents will expire within 4 business days of their execution, and the passport application will be rejected.

If the acceptance agent is reluctant to return your sealed envelope, refer them to the “Hand Carry” section of the Acceptance Officer Procedure Manual, or contact Ambassador Passport and Visa Services for assistance.

To locate the closest Passport Acceptance Agent, Click Here  

If you are having difficulting locating an Acceptance Agent, please contact one of our agents at 800-826-4558

• You will need to pay the U.S. government fee to the clerk. This fee should be paid by two checks:

Check List: The following documents should be placed inside the sealed envelope executed by the Passport Clerk:

• Your Proof of U.S. Citizenship

• The Application Form DS-11 (and original DS-64 if applicable)

• The Photograph

• The Appropriate Government fees

• The original Letter of Authorization

• Copies of govt. issued ID’s.  If Driver’s license or state ID is being used, the copies of front and back are required.

• The Proof of Departure (Itinerary)

Please note: Processing for a U.S. Passport begins the FIRST BUSINESS DAY AFTER all the documents and requirements are received by Ambassador Passport and Visa Services.

(2) Ambassador Passport and Visa Services Fees:

Express Processing (10 – 12 Business Days)	$526.00
Rush Processing (7 to 8 Business Days)	$626.00
Ultra Rush Processing (4 to 5 Business Days)	$726.00
Faster processing options are limited and subject to availability. Please contact one of our agents at 310-828-7878 for current availability.

Please note: Ambassador Passport and Visa Fees are in addtion to the government fees.   

(3) Federal Express Fees (Continental USA Only)

FedEx 2nd Business Day	$45.00
FedEx Letter (Priority Overnight)	$48.00
FedEx Letter (First Overnight)	$130.00
FedEx Letter (Saturday Delivery)	$78.00
Alaska, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, USVI – FedEx Priority Overnight Letter (No Saturday Delivery)	$88.00

Please Forward All The Above Documents and Requirements To:
Ambassador Passport and Visa Services, Inc.
2811 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 720
Santa Monica, California, 90403
(310) 828-7878