We are planning a trip with some other couples to the Caribbean and passports are required. Three of us will have infants that are traveling on our laps. How soon after birth can you get a passport for a baby? Do you just have to wait until you have their social security number issued?

yes, infant must have own passport:

here is all the info and forms you need online:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/4pa6s

Thanks for the link.

We are fully aware that he will need a passport. I'm just trying to see if anyone has experience in obtaining one and how soon after birth they were able to complete it.

The link posted by escargot clearly states the requirements and answers your question.

step 8. Provide a Social Security Number

If you do not provide your Social Security Number, the Internal Revenue Service may impose a $500 penalty. If you have any questions please call your nearest IRS office.

Seems like this is the order of things.

1. wait for certified birth cert.
2. apply for SS#/card
3. apply for passport

Now, to get a SS#, you need to submit proof of citizenship. A US Passport will suffice as proof of US citizenship.

I wasn't being hateful.

I looked at the link and I couldn't find anything about a general time frame. That's why I asked again for someone who's done it already.

The ss number should arrive soon, or you can go to the office and get one. You can take the hospital discharge papers for the baby (not the mother) as proof of birth if you don't have a birth certificate yet. I think anyway. But you might still need the birth certificate for the passport.

One tip for photos. Put the kid in a bumbo seat when you take their picture. I put my son in front of a white wall and the photo came out great. You can also lie them on the floor, but the bumbo seat makes them look more natural.

Just to be clear, for the passport, you will need a certified birth certificate--not an abstract of birth or any hospital-generated document.

It's hard to give you a time frame, as much depends on how long it takes in your area to receive a certified birth certificate. Not all local government offices have the same rules or processing times. EG: when getting my kids' certificates, I had to mail a check & application into the county offices and wait several weeks. Now there is an office in a local courthouse that will issue one for you on the same day.

One tip for photos. Put the kid in a bumbo seat when you take their picture. I put my son in front of a white wall and the photo came out great. You can also lie them on the floor, but the bumbo seat makes them look more natural.

I dont' know what a bumbo seat is, but aren't there specific requirements for the background for passport photos, even for infants?

Lakeside:
Sorry, I thought the link would give you most of the info you needed

How long it will take for you may likely depend on where you live, if you have town hall/ social security offices near you where doing it in person might expedite matters, etc - I have known people to have the SS # and card in weeks and others in months.

This is same with passports - when they were all behind b/c of new regulations, my son still had his renewal in record time while my girlfriend was still waiting weeks later and they sent in at the same time but from different states - some questions can not be answered with an exact timeframe except by the administration/company issuing it.

From the Social Security Web site:

Baby's Social Security Number

You have the option to apply for your baby’s social security number at the same time the information is obtained for your child’s birth certificate. Please allow one month for card to be mailed to you.

There is no charge for this service as it is provided by the Social Security Administration.

If you have any questions in regards to obtaining your
baby’s card, please contact the local Social Security Office

www.ssa.gov/gethelp2.htm

Bumbo: http://www.bumboseat.com/

The post office takes pictures of babies sort of held up in their carseats. I think as long as the background is neutral, it is fine.

Our CVS lies the baby on the floor on a sheet. Using a bumbo gives you just the kids head and shoulders. The passport guy at CVS said it was the best baby passport photo he'd ever seen and was going to talk to his manager about getting one.

The baby does have to have some neck control to use one however.

Another great product that wasn't invented in time for my kids!

That's the kind of information I was looking for! Thanks so much. And yes, we have a Bumbo seat for our newborn. We were told anything up to 17 weeks for a social security card. It just didn't sound right to us.

lakeside: "We were told anything up to 17 weeks for a social security card. It just didn't sound right to us"

well I don't know who told you this, but as I mentioned above, anything can happen - the passport office told my girlfriend 12 weeks, - it took 18 before she got her renewal - she missed her trip to Europe and ended up going five months later - in the same time frame, I knew others who rec'd it earlier than thought, and others who went in person and rec'd it that day while they waited -

I'd go with whatever my local social security office is telling me for that, and if your trip is in the near future, I'd pay to expedite the passport

we received a SS card for my DD very soon after her birth, but we did all the paperwork for the social at the hostpital. She received a passport at 5 months- and she looks like a little boy in her pic!

My daughter was barely 2 months old with her first passport. Had to get pics retaken a few times to get her headshot big enough. Find your nearest and least busy passport office, and explain. They were happy to rush mine.

I took my son in to get his passport renewed in March and the passport agent at the post office said that we would receive the new passport in 6 - 8 weeks. We had the passport 1 week later.
Apparently the State Department has done a good job of processing the backlog of applications from last year; however, as it gets closer to summer, it will take longer to receive your passport. But you can always opt for the expedited service if necessary.

Now that parents need a SS# for their children to file their taxes, I've found that the hospital usually provides the necessary paperwork that they send to SS and the card comes quickly in the mail. I have always just gone to the city hall where my kids were born and obtained a birth certificate. They usually ask if you want an abstract (good for sports sign-ups, school, etc.) which is cheaper or a full certified one. They've always given them to me that same day.

We were able to get a social security number for our dtr (now 17) verbally before card came. Card never came, we forgot about it and discovered on her 16th birthday as she applied for driver's license that we had been using the wrong number for 16 years - on 2 passports, 15 tax filings - not answering your question, but a weird story anyway.

Great information. We have about 10 months for our son, but one of the other couples we're going with will have a 3 month old, and we're concerned about their situation. The hospital filed for the social security card before we left with our baby, so hopefully we'll get it quickly.

TTT for helpful information.

In addition, children need a
new passport every *5* years,
unlike adults.