ORLANDO, Fla. – Searching for passport renewal online could land you on a site that charges you for a government form that costs nothing.
A News 6 investigation found one Orlando woman paid $125 to a third-party website, only to receive the same PDF available for free on the official U.S. government site.
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Alex needed to renew her passport before a Caribbean trip. She typed “passport renewal” into a search engine and clicked the first link that appeared, a sponsored result for a site called uspassportandvisa.org, believing she was on an official government page.
“I was wanting to take a trip this month to the Caribbean for the summer,” Alex said.
Alex filled out her application directly on the uspassportandvisa.org website. When she finished, the site emailed her a PDF of the completed form — the same form she could have downloaded and filled out herself for free at the official U.S. government site. She still had to submit the application to the State Department on her own. She only realized her mistake when she checked her credit card statement.
“When I went on my bank statement, this is what appeared — Easy Form Filler,” Alex said. “That’s not even a government official site.”
Alex contacted the site and received a refund.
In response to her complaints, uspassportandvisa.org states its role is to ensure applications are accurate and ready for submission to the U.S. Department of State. However, the site does not submit the application to the State Department on the user’s behalf.
The site also posts a disclaimer at the top of its webpage stating it is a privately owned organization not associated with any government agency.
But Better Business Bureau CEO Holly Salmons says most people miss it, especially when using a phone.
“They believed that they were on a government site,” Salmons said. “They believed they were completing the standard traditional process. And it wasn’t until they had submitted their information and given the money that they realized really all they were getting back in return was a completed form, that they then had to still process and submit themselves.”
Salmons says sponsored search results are a key part of the problem. When a result says “sponsored” at the top of a search page, that is paid ad placement, not an endorsement by the search engine.
“It can be really tempting to just go to a search engine, plug it in and click and go,” Salmons said. “But consumers should note that those sponsored results at the top of the page — that is essentially a paid ad.”
Domain records show uspassportandvisa.org launched in January of last year. Since then, the Better Business Bureau has logged more than 700 complaints against the site.
Salmons warns the risks go beyond losing money.
“Not only are these people not getting what they expect, they’re giving money, they’re giving very personal information to who knows who,” she said. “Consumers reported feeling very afraid or unassured about what’s going to happen now that my information is out there.”
She also notes that some consumers’ credit cards flagged the transaction as fraudulent before the consumer even realized what happened, providing a layer of protection that debit cards and payment apps do not offer.
“Even though the money may not be gone, even though the transaction may not have gone through, there is currency assigned to the value of our personal information,” Salmons said. “Where that information is going to go, how it’s going to be traded or sold, is unclear.”
The BBB is also tracking a broader trend: more copycat sites are appearing.
“If it works, there are going to be copycats,” Salmons said. “We want consumers to be aware, especially when doing a search online, to really inspect the search results.”
Ryan Dooley, Acting Managing Director for Passport Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, says there is one official website for passport services: travel.state.gov.
“That is the only official website for passport-related information,” Dooley said. “All the forms are on that site, they can be downloaded, filled out, and brought into one of our passport application acceptance facilities.”
Dooley says the State Department anticipates processing more than 23 million passport applications this year. For first-time applicants, the process starts at a local passport acceptance facility, such as a post office or clerk of court, where applicants bring their DS-11 application, passport photo, proof of citizenship, and valid ID. Routine processing takes four to six weeks; expedited processing takes two to three weeks.
Adults renewing a passport can use the State Department’s online renewal system at travel.state.gov, which allows applicants to take their own photo using a laptop or smartphone.
Dooley says third-party sites charging fees for forms is a known issue.
“Those companies charge a fee for the same service that we can provide you without that additional fee,” he said. “We want to make sure that all Americans reach our services directly.”
For travelers in Central Florida with urgent travel needs — typically defined as travel within a matter of days — the current option is to make an appointment at the Miami Passport Agency.
That is about to change. Dooley announced that the State Department plans to open an official passport agency in Orlando. The agency is expected to open in the fall of 2027, just north of the Orlando International Airport.
“Those citizens in the Orlando area who have urgent travel will no longer have to go to Miami for an urgent passport,” Dooley said. “We know that South Florida is a growing population and we’re really happy to be able to eventually open that passport agency to help your viewers.”
Both the State Department and the BBB stress the same bottom line: the passport application and renewal form process is free of charge. You will pay government fees to obtain or renew a passport, but there is no cost to download, complete, or submit the application form itself.
Salmons recommends completing the process on a laptop or desktop — not a phone — so you can clearly inspect the site’s address bar and look for red flags before submitting any personal information.
“Prevention is really the measure,” Salmons said, “because it’s unclear what’s going to happen once you hit submit.”
The official U.S. State Department passport website is travel.state.gov.
Travelers can also contact the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778 for assistance.