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Getting a U.S. Passport for Individual with Down Syndrome

My best friend and her family and I are going on a cruise to the Bahamas in February. It is her father's 82nd birthday and he has never been out of the country or even on a real vacation before. We are super excited!

There is just one problem; my best friend's youngest sister has Down Syndrome and we are having a terrible time getting her a passport. I am wondering if anyone would have any advice or has any experience with the same issue?

What has happened thus far is that she no longer has a valid photo ID. She was able to obtain one when she was under the age of 21 as her mother could attest to who she was. Her mother failed to renew the ID and she is now over the age of 21 and we cannot get a new non-driver photo ID issued in the State of New York as she cannot produce enough required proofs.

So we sent in what we could to the passport agency. This included: the expired NY photo ID, her Medicare card, her birth certificate, her SS card, High School diploma, her SSI award statement, life insurance policy, and an affidavit of residency from her mother.

Well this turned out to be not enough for the passport agency and we were contacted for additional documents. At this point, the only thing we had left was her High School photo ID. So we resent the SS Card and Medicare card with the High School ID and are waiting to hear. Unfortunately, we feel that we already know what the answer is going to be.

Does anyone have any idea what we can do here? She has a developmental disability and therefore does not have things like credit cards, utility bills, or other types of proof of identity. We have literally sent everything we have and it is not looking good. There has to be an answer here! There must be some way for an individual with Down Syndrome over the age of 21 to get a passport! If we cannot get her passport issued, this trip will not happen as her mother and father will not be able to go.

Anyone have any advice or direction??
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