Q: My 10-year-old granddaughter, a US citizen, came to Jamaica for Easter. She has a plane ticket to return to the United States on Saturday. I noticed yesterday that her passport has expired. Her passport expired after her arrival, so will she be able to use that passport to return to the United States? If not, how do I get a travel letter for her from the US Embassy?

A. All US citizens are required by law to enter and exit the United States using a valid US passport. There are no “travel letters” for US citizens, so it is important for all US citizens to carefully check the validity of their passports before travelling.

Airline officials will not allow her to board a flight back to the United States without a valid US passport. She can apply for a new US passport through the US Embassy in Kingston or through the Consular Agency in Montego Bay, depending on her location in Jamaica. Only individuals residing in St James, Hanover, Westmoreland, or Trelawny may submit applications in Montego Bay.

Applications are accepted by appointment only. You should schedule an appointment online by following the instructions available at

jm.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/appointments/ After the appointment date, passport processing in Kingston typically takes seven to 10 business days, and processing in Montego Bay takes three to four weeks, if all required documentation has been presented.

Because your granddaughter is less than 16 years old, evidence of US citizenship as described at

travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/under-16.html must be presented for her to obtain a new US passport. If her parents are in the United States, they must provide notarised DS-3053 consent forms, copies of their driver’s licences or passports, and the notarised DS-3053 consent forms must name you as the authorised person to apply for your granddaughter’s passport. If her parents are in Jamaica, they must appear at the US Embassy or Consular Agency on the appointment date.

On the day of your granddaughter’s appointment, you must bring all evidence as described above and her old US passport. We suggest that you carefully look at the birth certificate to make sure it is in good condition; if the birth certificate is torn or very faded, you will need to obtain a new certificate. If your granddaughter’s appearance has changed significantly since the time of her last passport application, please also bring a series of photos that demonstrate how she has grown. We recommend at least one to two photos for each year since the last passport to show progression.

Parents and guardians of US citizen children are strongly encouraged to ensure that children always have unexpired US passports. Avoid delays and the need to change your travel plans by applying for passports well in advance of travel, and please note that passports can be renewed before their expiration date. When preparing for summer travel, be sure to renew passports early.

You can find more information on our website, www. jm.usembassy.gov and the Department of State’s travel website www.travel.state. gov Keep on top of Embassy news on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ USEmbassyJamaica/ and by following @USEmbassyJA on Twitter. We also answer general visa questions on our Facebook and Twitter pages..