NeoPatrick,

I do feel for you. Unfortunately, Homeland Security (sic) is sufficiently vague about this event.

The British version, which is at least to the point, said that it's not a problem, except to make sure your carrier(s) will accept the passport.

You might check with your carrier before you believe in the "they say" saying.

I'm leaving for Europe in 2 1/2 weeks, and just rechecked my tickets and passports this morning, just as you've done.

Good luck!

Well, I've heard of money laundering operations, but for the church?? Shame.
:D

Patrick, when I was in high school my grandmother was washing sheets for my aunt. My aunt was a little senile and she had wrapped an entire carton of cigarettes into the dirty sheets. Of course, auntie forgot where her cigs were when she gave the dirty sheets to my grandmother to wash. My grandmother didn't see the carton of cigs in the sheets so she threw it all into the washer. Later my grandmother was horrified to find little pieces of tobacco all over the sheets and stuck in the washer. My poor granny spent countless hours hunched over her washer, picking tobacco out of every little hole. She was mad about this for at least a week. :-(

Patrick:

I would make sure when you iron them there is a layer of cloth between the passport and the iron (just in case you hadn't thought of that) - wouldn't want to add scorch marks to the mix.

And I think I'd call the Passport Office and ask.I doubt the lack of clarity of stamps is going to be an issue, but these days who knows?

If it makes you feel any better, I once flushed a cell phone down a toilet. If you're a female, don't ever keep anything valuable in your back pocket ;)

If I were you, I'd get a new passport.

ok - i admit it - i also washed my passport years back -- and continued on many more trips with no problem..(sentimental reasons kept me from replacing it.. sounds to have been in similar condition to yours. However, this was BEFORE 9/11 - so not sure how much things have changed in regards to suspicious-looking "drowned" passports..

The problem is that the Passport Office might say it's OK, but it's the people at your arrival airport who have to be okay with it.

Coming back from Cologne to Newark we were sent for an extra inspection (no doubt the France issue). While we were waiting, my daughter observed the trials of a 10-year-old boy whose passport had fallen apart (but somehow I missed this drama, as I was too worried about our connecting flight). I'm not sure how that was resolved. I think he was a foreign national.