Still chasing the passport...

I've been checking our bank account waiting on the New Zealand passport people to debit our account for my passport. I figured that would be a good way of knowing if it was on its way. Well, on Monday they still hadn't taken money out, so I sent them email. They emailed me back, letting me know they'd posted me a letter on March 6th, letting me know that they needed an original of our marriage certificate, not a copy. They HAVE the original! At least, as original as it can get when it comes directly from the courthouse. Tueday arrives, and there's no reply, so I call them, and get told the same thing again. I try to explain that what they have is the equivalent of what you would get in NZ when you request a document directly from the courthouse ... the only difference being, its not on the pretty coloured paper you get in NZ. I spoke to a really nice man called James, and told him why I needed this taken care of as fast as possible, and he said he'd see what he could do. Well yesterday, he phones me back to let me know that they'll accept the marriage certificate if I write a note explaining that it is not a photocopy, but direct from the courthouse. Only thing is, from when they get the faxed note from me, the 10 days processing time starts all over again, and then there's the mailing time for it to get back here. I really didn't want to have to wait another 3-4 wks, and told him so ... so he told me about their expedited service, ......a short phone call, and another $171NZD later, my passport should be on its way within the next three days via international courier.

As soon as we get you home, I'm going to file for my US citizenship ... How much easier this all would have been if I could have just applied for a US passport!