Visit to the US Consulate

I had an appointment to the US Consulate today to fix my passport. Last week when I came back to HK there was a bit of an issue at immigration because they were a bit perplexed by my middle initial. They put me in a secondary screening, which was a hassle but luckily not too bad. However, they admonished me for only having a middle initial and insisted that the next time I have my passport amended to put my full middle name in the passport.

So, the way to change your passport at least in Hong Kong is to make an appointment at the consulate. Luckily, US citizens can make an appointment online here. There's a strange system set up though. After clearing through the initial security, going past long queues of locals looking for a US visa, and being relieved of my cell phone, I went upstairs to promptly confronting a rather confusing sign. First, you need to check in with the cashier before talking to someone in the consulate. Yet most people bypass it because you want your questions answered before deciding you want to pay the government. Then you get sent into the waiting area before you get called to a numbered bank teller-like booth. However, the signs also tell you to check in at booth #1 (which they call counter #1). Confused yet?

During the time there, most of the people were there to get extra passport pages, renew passports, notarize papers, or try to vote. Anyway, the consulate is willing to correct my passport but it will take 10 days before they can give me the new one. At least they said I can travel with my current passport until they give me the new one (at which point they will cancel the current passport). So we'll see if I can get it before my next trip.

Oh, definitely make an appointment if you get the chance because you'll be waiting much, much longer if you don't.