Children's Passport Application Day And Field Trips In Between

We finally made it to our much awaited Children's Passport Application Day!!! While there, we saw a long line of children approaching the building; perhaps, they were there for their field trip! Well, it was like a field trip for our children, too, especially since all three of them had to get their passports for the very first time! But, before we could even go to the Honolulu Passport Agency, we had to spend several days doing other "pre-requisites"; as a result, our children were able to experience additional field trips in the process! Here's a list of some of those field trips:

1. A trip to FedEx Office: Here, we showed them how to print and make copies using credit-card-operated machines. We had to make copies of the front and back of our U.S. Government-issued ID's, i.e. a Driver License, as proof of our parental relationship to our children. We attached these copies to our children's application for a passport.
2. A trip to the State of Hawaii Department of Health (DOH): Here, we requested a copy of our children's birth certificates as evidence of their U.S. citizenship. We attached an original copy of their birth certificate to their passport application, knowing that the original copy will be returned to us. While at the DOH, we also requested for a notarized / certified copy of their birth certificate, specifically for use in the Philippines (yes, this is an entirely different version of a birth certificate).
3. A trip to the Costco Photo Center: Here, all of our children got to have their passport photos taken (it is less expensive here compared to Walgreens and FedEx Office). It was a bit of an ordeal, as if we were having our family photo taken. With the exception of the eldest child, the younger children needed a few extra "takes". The youngest, of course, is an infant, and we did our best to get him to look in the direction of the camera. As for the middle child, well, we had to "train" him to smile differently for his passport photo since his cute smile made his cute eyes "disappear". Since then, he was able to successfully master the "photo ID smile". 
4. A trip to see a Notary Public: We plan to have copies of the data page of each of our children's passports notarized by a duly commissioned Notary Public of the State of Hawaii so that we can attach them to their DOH-notarized/certified birth certificate as secondary proof of their identity.
5. A trip to the Hawaii State Capitol: We plan to have the notarized copies of our children's passport data pages and DOH-notarized / certified birth certificates apostille'd by the Office of the Lt Governor, so that these documents can be authenticated by the Philippine Consulate General Honolulu for use in the Philippines.
6. A trip to the Philippine Consulate General Honolulu: We plan to have our children's apostille'd documents authenticated by the Philippine Consulate General Honolulu so that such documents will be recognized in the Philippines.
7. A trip to the Satellite City Hall: Well, they just had to accompany their parents to renew our motor vehicle registration somewhere in the middle of all of these trips. Thankfully, the line wasn't so long during that day!

Whew! Quite a lot of steps just to get our children's passports which will only be good for five years (compared to the adult passport, which is good for ten years). It has been very educational for all of us and we are sure that our efforts will be worth it. We are all looking forward to our big "family trip" to the Philippines! No doubt that we'll be learning even more so during our time there!

Disclaimer:  I am by no means associated with any of the organizations listed in this blog post; I am only sharing my personal experiences and findings regarding such a process. Therefore, it is prudent to visit the official websites of these organizations directly to get the most up-to-date and accurate information.