Since so many readers have sent messages of hope, enquiries and even condolences upon the anticipation of the renewal of my U.S. passport, I promised all that I would let them know how the whole process came down after I had discovered (actually been informed by in-the-know readers) that the dreaded trip to the consulate in Guadalajara was unnecessary.
The answers are: Yes, the process can be taken care of at American Legion Post 7 in Chapala or at the Lake Chapala Society in Ajijic. Representatives from the U.S. Consulate do show up at each venue on the first Wednesday of each month. No, you don’t have to make an appointment. It’s okay to just show up. Yes, you do need to have filled out the appropriate application form (found on the consulate website and something of a puzzlement even for those with high I.Q.s and multiple college degrees) online and then have printed it out to carry with you. Yes, you do have to pay 110 dollars (U.S.) for the renewal. No, you cannot pay in either U.S. or Mexican currency. You have to go to one particular local bank and purchase a check issued in dollars but paid for in Mexican pesos (at the highest rate possible). Yes, you do need two passport-size photos. No, the consulate does not provide photography service, no matter how many of your friends tell you that they do. (Sometimes a local photographer shows up and takes those pictures for pin-money). However, if you’re lucky enough to run into a friend in the same photo-less boat as you and with a car parked close by, you can rush off to your trusty pharmacy for a photo session that takes about 30 seconds (which is what you should have done in the first place) and make it back to the passport venue with seconds to spare. Yes, you and your friend will find great comfort in springing for a liquid lunch when the whole thing is over … over, that is, until the return visit in one month to pick up what we all hope will be a new passport.
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