When you replace a passport or get a new one, check all the information on it, WTVD advised. | Levi Ventura/Unsplash
When you replace a passport or get a new one, check all the information on it, WTVD advised. | Levi Ventura/Unsplash
Attention to detail is important in many things in life, especially an official form of identification.
As Durham resident Jeremy Rascoe learned, people need to check such things when they get a new ID.
Rascoe is going to marry this summer, and the couple is planning a honeymoon abroad, but a typographical error might have put that vacation on hold.
"My middle name is Durell but, in the middle, they have Purell," he told WTVD. "Again, it's the middle of the pandemic, so I'm guessing they were looking at my birth certificate and looking at hand sanitizer and continued to type."
Rascoe applied for his passport in April 2021. He received it three months later and noticed the mistake.
He called and emailed the U.S. Department of State to report the problem and was told to fill out a form and report the spelling gaffe, WTVD reported.
"I sent out my passport book again, with my birth certificate that I also have and I thought everything was fine," Rascoe said. But, instead of getting a re-issued passport, he checked his status online and learned that his application had been marked as "Not Issued." A note on his account said someone determined he was not eligible for a passport.
The government then returned the passport with Rascoe's name still spelled incorrectly.
"It just confuses me on the reason why I can't get a simple thing processed,” he said. "It's more headache than I ever thought it would be."
With his wedding date approaching, Rascoe turned to WTVD to ask one of the station's troubleshooters for help. That was the nudge his case needed because he recently received the correct passport.
"I got my passport on Friday," he said in a recent WTVD report. "We are in the money now; we are good to go to Jamaica for our honeymoon. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Rascoe's situation serves as a reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic left lingering after-effects and delays in the way business is done. If you are making plans for any major life event, be sure to set aside extra time for everything, WTVD warned.
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