Since the start of the pandemic, getting a passport renewed has become a lengthy process and wait. As a professional travel journalist, however, I’m here to tell you that there is a better way to take care of your travel documents, and it’s easy. Or rather ItsEasy Passport & Visa, an all-inclusive service that can make renewing your passport and taking perfect passport photographs better and safer for an honest price.
According to U.S. Custom and Border Protection, passports generally must be valid for six months beyond the date the traveler will exit the United States. David Alwadish, who founded ItsEasy in 1976, said the sixth-month rule is a “huge pain point,” as he’s seen travelers who have had to postpone or cancel their trips (even after getting to the airport with a valid passport), because their passports would expire within six months.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Alwadish, whose company has a hub in Manhattan’s MetLife Building, with centers in Boston, Washington, D.C., Houston, Denver and Los Angeles, “and it’s a travel fact that’s been in a vacuum.”
He recommends that you check your destination’s passport requirements when planning your trip or renew your passport at least nine months before it expires. He has also witnessed the pain of travelers packing for their trip, then realizing that their passports have expired. ItsEasy’s 24/7/365 Live Call Center helps people navigate the system. “We make the process go from a nightmare at least to a realistic, developed plan, even in the middle of the night.”
A great advantage to the ItsEasy.com app is that it completely eliminates your need to go to the drugstore to have your passport photo taken, and it obviates the long lines at passport offices. (The U.S. Department of State has noted that the number one reason for delayed approval of a passport application is a photo that doesn’t meet the criteria.) With ItsEasy, you can take your passport photo in the comfort of your home or office.
“What’s phenomenal about the five-star app is its incredible, all-inclusive, value proposition,” Alwadish added. “Wherever there is public anxiety about getting a passport, merchant greed rolls in as online competitors’ pricing gets ugly and expensive and innocent people are unknowingly being gouged, getting charged hundreds of dollars for next to nothing.” ItsEasy does not do that.
Its standard processing (approximately 10 to 12 weeks) is $38.95, plus the $130 government fee. This includes passport photos, documents pre-checked, applications pre-typed and bar-coded, order status updates, secure delivery to the U.S. State Department passport facility and United States Postal Service (USPS) tracking. (When I checked the competition, I found charges up to $318.85 in service fees – without any photos.)
ItsEasy’s expedited processing (approximately five to seven weeks right now) costs $39.95, plus the $190.00 government fee, which includes the additional $60 for the actual U.S. State Department expedite fee. This has all of the same services as the standard, in addition to rush processing.
ItsEasy offers urgent processing (less than two weeks), with prices starting at $349.00 (up to sometimes $995 for same-day processing), plus the appropriate government fee, which will include the $60 expedite fee.
Additionally, there is the option to ship FedEx Overnight ($19).
During the height of Covid, ItsEasy assisted a man whose father had passed away in Trinidad and who needed to go there at once to retrieve the body. The State Department was closed. ItsEasy was able to volunteer its trademark white-glove concierge service. “We stayed open even during that painful time,” Alwadish said. “I make sure my staff continues to answer the phone 24/7. My company at least can try to do something in case of emergencies.
“When I give the government my clients’ passport applications, I’m sure they are happy that the payment is perfect, the applicant’s signature is perfect, the photo is usually perfect and nine out of 10 applications that we submit are pre-typed and bar-coded by us so that the agency personnel can process the applications more quickly, versus the agents getting bogged down having to type the handwritten applications most of the public submits, especially during these high-volume times.”
Additional features include travel visa service and a complimentary passport renewal reminder. ItsEasy can also help you secure a driver’s license-sized passport card that you can use for domestic air travel, in lieu of standing in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles for a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license. (The U.S. Department of Homeland Security notes that beginning May 7, 2025, you must have your REAL ID or another acceptable form of identification, to travel on a domestic flight. Acceptable forms include your passport or passport card.)
With ItsEasy in your corner, Alwadish said, you don’t have to worry: “My trademarked motto is ‘No passenger left behind.’”
For more, click here https://www.itseasy.com/ or call 1-866-ITS-EASY. And follow me on Instagram @DebbiKickham.
