This is a very interesting situation that I am taking a shot in the dark here to see if anyone on this board might be able to explain. I recently applied for a new US Passport. I used a company called A Briggs to expedite my passport because I was flying to New Zeland on the 23rd of Dec. It said in the instructions to be sure to provide a copy of the itenery so they know the dates of travel. In order to get that I of course had to purchase the ticket. The cost was around $1900.00 for round trip. I filled out the passport D11 form on line and entered in all the required fields. I sent off the packet of documents that included my birth certificate.
Now for some background information. When I was 16 after my mother had passed away I was adopted by my then Step Father. I was born in Albuquerque New Mexico, but was living in Milwaukee at the time. When the adoption was finalized and my birth certificate was changed it did not list my mother. Only listed my Step Father. This is the certificate I sent in to A Briggs to hand deliver to the State Department in DC.
Now back to the application.
The next day after the application was submitted to the state department, there was a problem. They said they needed to gather more information but did not provide A Briggs or me with any information of what else they needed. This was on the 22ns of Dec and my flight was for the 23rd. I was able to get my flight changed in time for the 31st of Dec because the supervisor at the State Department did say that they would not have any information until after Christmas that coming Monday.
Monday has come and gone, as has Tuesday, and its still the same. However, I spoke with the main Supervisor at A Briggs that is taking point on my case and he informed me he would check on Tuesday afternoon for more details. When he called me after talking with a Supervisor at the State Department he was told that my passport is on a UL Hold. When asked what a UL Hold was, the supervisor at the State Department said he did not know. He had never seen a UL Hold before.
I did some checking on various information sites but have not uncovered what exactly a UL Hold is or any type of reference to it. Although I did find out that recently there was a undercover sting on the State Department of trying to acquire false information passports that were successful. The State Department then went into action to correct the problems they had to insure that phony information could not be provided that resulted in a passport being issued. That of course is a good resolve but further looking I discovered that the State Department has started putting more scrutiny on southern border state applicants. Given my current residence is in Texas and my Birthplace New Mexico coupled with the fact that I do not have a mother listed on my Birth Certificate makes for a complex matter I am sure. What I find odd in it all is, there has been no denial of issuing the Passport, no letter of explanation, and the fact that a Supervisor within the State Department it self did not know what the classification of a UL Hold was, has raised some serious questions for me. For the record I am a legal citizen, both my birth parents were legal citizens, and no I do not correspond with OBL on facebook or twitter. That being said I would appreciate if anyone could weigh in on this matter to provide a bit of insight. Thanks.
Now for some background information. When I was 16 after my mother had passed away I was adopted by my then Step Father. I was born in Albuquerque New Mexico, but was living in Milwaukee at the time. When the adoption was finalized and my birth certificate was changed it did not list my mother. Only listed my Step Father. This is the certificate I sent in to A Briggs to hand deliver to the State Department in DC.
Now back to the application.
The next day after the application was submitted to the state department, there was a problem. They said they needed to gather more information but did not provide A Briggs or me with any information of what else they needed. This was on the 22ns of Dec and my flight was for the 23rd. I was able to get my flight changed in time for the 31st of Dec because the supervisor at the State Department did say that they would not have any information until after Christmas that coming Monday.
Monday has come and gone, as has Tuesday, and its still the same. However, I spoke with the main Supervisor at A Briggs that is taking point on my case and he informed me he would check on Tuesday afternoon for more details. When he called me after talking with a Supervisor at the State Department he was told that my passport is on a UL Hold. When asked what a UL Hold was, the supervisor at the State Department said he did not know. He had never seen a UL Hold before.
I did some checking on various information sites but have not uncovered what exactly a UL Hold is or any type of reference to it. Although I did find out that recently there was a undercover sting on the State Department of trying to acquire false information passports that were successful. The State Department then went into action to correct the problems they had to insure that phony information could not be provided that resulted in a passport being issued. That of course is a good resolve but further looking I discovered that the State Department has started putting more scrutiny on southern border state applicants. Given my current residence is in Texas and my Birthplace New Mexico coupled with the fact that I do not have a mother listed on my Birth Certificate makes for a complex matter I am sure. What I find odd in it all is, there has been no denial of issuing the Passport, no letter of explanation, and the fact that a Supervisor within the State Department it self did not know what the classification of a UL Hold was, has raised some serious questions for me. For the record I am a legal citizen, both my birth parents were legal citizens, and no I do not correspond with OBL on facebook or twitter. That being said I would appreciate if anyone could weigh in on this matter to provide a bit of insight. Thanks.