American Citizens Services Newsletter
ACS Newsletter (December 2007)
U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong and Macau
Welcome to the December newsletter! Here are this month's topics:
New Topics:
Continuing Topics of Interest:
Upcoming Holidays and Other Closures
The Consulate General will be closed on the following holidays:
December 25 | | Christmas Day |
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December 26 | | First weekday after Christmas |
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January 1 | | New Year's Day |
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January 21 | | Martin Luther King, Jr. Day |
STATE VOTING DATES FOR THE 2008 PRIMARY ELECTIONS
NEW HAMPSHIRE AND MICHIGAN PRIMARY ELECTION DATES
New Hampshire and Michigan have scheduled their Presidential Primary elections. New Hampshire will conduct their Presidential Primary election on January 8, 2008 and Michigan will conduct their Presidential Primary election for January 15, 2008.
Voting Assistance Officers should inform New Hampshire and Michigan voters and provide help as required in requesting and returning their absentee ballot.
REGISTERING TO VOTE AND REQUESTING A BALLOT:
If you have not done so already in calendar year 2007, all members of the U.S. Uniformed Services and their family members and citizens residing outside the U.S. who are either New Hampshire or Michigan residents should request a ballot by completing and submitting a registration and ballot request Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), SF-76, as soon as possible. The online version of the FPCA is available from the FVAP website at www.fvap.gov/pubs/onlinefpca.html.
OTHER EARLY PRIMARY ELECTIONS
The following states will hold Primary elections early in 2008. An asterisk indicates a change from the date printed in the Voting Assistance Guide:
New Hampshire * | | January 8, 2008 |
Michigan * | | January 15, 2008 |
South Carolina * (R) | | January 19, 2008 |
Florida | | January 29, 2008 |
South Carolina * (D) | | January 29, 2008 |
Alabama | | February 5, 2008 |
Arizona * | | February 5, 2008 |
Arkansas | | February 5, 2008 |
California | | February 5, 2008 |
Connecticut | | February 5, 2008 |
Delaware | | February 5, 2008 |
Georgia | | February 5, 2008 |
Illinois | | February 5, 2008 |
Missouri | | February 5, 2008 |
New Jersey | | February 5, 2008 |
New Mexico (D) | | February 5, 2008 |
New York | | February 5, 2008 |
Oklahoma | | February 5, 2008 |
Tennessee | | February 5, 2008 |
Utah | | February 5, 2008 |
Louisiana | | February 9, 2008 |
District of Columbia * | | February 12, 2008 |
Maryland | | February 12, 2008 |
Virginia | | February 12, 2008 |
Washington | | February 19, 2008 |
Wisconsin | | February 19, 2008 |
Massachusetts | | March 4, 2008 |
Ohio | | March 4, 2008 |
Rhode Island | | March 4, 2008 |
Texas | | March 4, 2008 |
Vermont | | March 4, 2008 |
Puerto Rico | | March 9, 2008 |
Mississippi | | March 11, 2008 |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The FVAP can be contacted via 1-800-438-8683. Citizens may reach the FVAP toll-free from 67 countries using the toll-free numbers listed on the FVAP website, www.fvap.gov. Questions regarding the above may also be referred to the Director, Federal Voting Assistance Program, Department of Defense, 1155 Defense Pentagon, Washington DC 20301-1155, and email at vote@fvap.ncr.gov.
Notarized Parental Consent for Passport Services for Minors Under 14
Effective July 2, 2001, U.S. law requires both parents' consent to passport services applications for minors under 14. This consent is normally established by both parents signing the application in front of a U.S. Consular officer. Note that both parents must prove their parentage and custodial status when granting their consent every time a U.S. citizen child under age 14 applies for passport services.
Parentage status may be established with an original or certified copy of the child's birth certificate listing both parents' full names. Custodial status may be proven by an original or certified copy of a court order.
U.S. citizens under age 14 applying for passports must appear in person at American Citizens Services. This requirement does not apply to requests for adding visa pages or other amendments to current U.S. passports.
When only one parent is available to execute the application, that parent must provide, under penalty of perjury, documentary evidence demonstrating that he or she has sole legal custody of the child or has the written consent of the other parent to the passport issuance.
Effective November 1, 2004, written consent must be notarized and provide unequivocal consent to passport issuance. We can accept faxed copies of this consent statement, but the notary seal must be visible in the faxed copy. The consent letter/form must be notarized within the previous six months.
Check Your Passport's Validity
Please carefully review the validity of your current U.S. passport.
Many governments require US travelers to have at least 6 months validity left in their passports for entry into their countries.
Regular passports are received within 10 calendar days after the US Consulate receives the application. More information can be found at http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/acs_passports.html
Need more passport pages?
If your full-validity U.S. passport has not expired yet, but has no blank pages left for visas, we can add additional pages for you free of charge. Barring any unusual circumstances, we can usually add pages to your passport in about 45 minutes, while you wait. You need to make an appointment for this service. In some cases, you can have a courier assist you in this process. Learn more at http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/acs_supplement.html
Online Appointment System for All American Citizens Services
Online appointments are required for all services provided by the American Citizens Services Unit at the U.S. Consulate General Hong. Book your appointment at http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov
Internet-Based Registration System
U.S. citizens around the world who travel or reside abroad can record foreign trip and residence information at https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/. The Department of State invites US Citizens to register themselves and their families. The registration information is used to communicate with US citizens and assist them in case of an emergency. If citizens are already registered with this consulate, the Department asks that they please re-register on line to update their records.
The registration site provides up-to-date travel information customized to each citizen's unique travel agenda and itinerary. The data citizens provide is secured behind Department of State firewalls, accessed only by cleared personnel in Embassies, Consulates, and the Department of State, and releasable only with the US Citizen's permission under the provisions of the Privacy Act.
Subscribing/Unsubscribing
Anyone who wishes to sign up to receive this monthly ACS email newsletter and the travel advice we provide can do so simply by going to our web page at and submit their email address in the fill-in box towards the bottom of the page. You can also unsubscribe through the web page.
New subscribers will be sent the last few messages we have sent out in a digest form to help them catch up. Back issues are on the web at http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/acs_newsletter.html.
This newsletter is published by the American Citizens Services Unit, U.S. Consulate General, Hong Kong, tel: 2841-2211, 2841-2323, 2841-2225; fax: 2845-4845; e-mail: questions@hongkongacs.com; website: http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov; All services by online appointment only.
Last modified: December 14, 2007
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