CVS says "no" to passport copying!!

[les]

Next week I'm bringing my mom to Paris. I told her to make a few photocopies of her passport, a couple to take along and one to leave here.

She went to CVS (a chain drug store that has a photocopy machine) and they REFUSED TO COPY IT! Ugh. They said it was against federal law, and they showed her a copy of the law. Good grief, she just wants it as a security measure. I'm sure the FBI/CVS worker was all of 17 years old, too.

So, she went to the post office and guess what? They did it gladly. I guess the federal government rules aren't as strictly followed at federal offices as they are at the local CVS!
Nuts.

[GitteK]

My advice:
buy a cheap Hewlettpackard deskjet printer which can both copy, print and scan. Costs nada.
So you can do it at home.

or do it at your job or at the library.

COPYING, I mean.......... not that other thing.....

[Penny]

From page 3 of Passport (itself) -Make two photocopies of your passport ID page. Leave one at home with family/friends. Carry the other with you in a place separate from your passport.

[Penny]

I know the manager at my local CVS (they've been helping with my prescription problem) I'll take my down tomorrow and ask. (just out of curiosity).
Les- where was this? City.
BTW- I used to work for the parent company of the company that owned CVS

[Penny]

LOL I still keep the copy of my first one. best picture I ever had made

[Ray(aka) tripnebraska]

Les,
Now we can all sleep comforted in knowing CVS is safeguarding U.S. immigration.
Maybe next we can get Walgreens to work on a Peace Plan for the Middle East.

[Becky (Berkeleytravelers)]

Ray, at least it wouldn't cost as much as from the current "suppliers"!

[holger]

Never heard of this "law." Have just been copying mine for years. Guess I am just a "law breaker."

[les]

I think someone at CVS (In Cleveland suburb) is a bit high and mighty and feeling powerful with the old copy machine.

But now my mother, the incessant worrier, is worried that she will be caught with this CONTRABAND. Even though I've sent her all the links to the State Dept., etc., she thinks she's breaking the law.

And we haven't even begun the trip yet...

[mtngrl]

LOL Les:) My mother would be the same way. We have the copier/scanner thing mentioned by Gitte. I copied our passports to leave with DH, and have also made copies of a few pages of guidebooks. Costco...go to costco and get one!

I told my mother to make copies of her passport too. Guess I better check that she has done that.

When do you leave? I think we are there about the same time. It will be fun to compare "travels with mom" notes when we return.

[parisfan2 (was 'paris-fantic')]

I've added to this debate in 'another place' and will repeat myself!
I'm not sure about in France and the rest of the EU but in the UK a photocopy of a passport is just a photocopy of a passport, it has no other use or value.
To use it as a proof of identity (a strange concept anyway - if you need a document to prove who you are, what do you use to prove who you are to get the document that proves who you are?) it must be the real thing.
This is the case in the UK with birth, marriage and death certificates - a photocopy has no legal standing. You can buy official copies from the appropriate government office (in fact you can buy a copy of anyone’s - this is how a lot of family tree research is done in the UK) but photocopies are just a waste of time.
I'll concede it's useful for yourself when filling in forms, but that's about it.
Just out of curiosity - what's CVS?

[Happygoin]

Parisfan, CVS is a chain of large pharmacys in the US.

I think that the fear our (older) mothers feel at silly things is a leftover from the Cold War days. My mother is completely convinced that the "men" who sent her a quarter as part a marketing scheme are going to come to her home to claim it any day now. It has been sitting on her dining room table for weeks. She will NOT spend it and gets really anxious if I try to convince her otherwise.

[les]

I've been to Paris quite a few times with my mother, when I was living there she would visit a few tiimes. But even back then, it was insanity. She would think I was going to be pushed into the metro tracks, she would think that the waiter/taxi driver/ shop keeper was out to get us, it went on and on.

And now she's older and more anxious!

Maybe I should just ply her with alcohol.

[Becky (Berkeleytravelers)]

Hi Les -- your mom sounds a bit like my grandmother (who was a real character -- much beloved, but worried about absolutely everything and once she got an idea in her head, she could not be talked out of it!). But just think of the stories (and memories) this gives you!

[sistereurope]

I am fortunate...my mother has gotten more relaxed and laid back as she's aged. Things that might have bothered her once just don't anymore. (And I'm NOT just saying that because she joined here and might read this!)

I know that she'll agree with me when I say yes, Les, give your mom some wine - it sure worked for me

[Shoesy]

I'm a worrying kind of mom, but only when it comes to my family, especially my kids. I still worry about them the way I did when they were much younger. As far as most other things are concerned, "Frankly my dear, I don't.................."

[les]

If you hear a headline about "30 something American woman tosses elderly mother into the Seine", you'll know it's me....

[Shoesy]

Les - Is this the same nice lady who you're planning to take to a fancy schmancy restaurant?

[les]

yes, that's her...she's a nice lady, it's just one of those mother/daughter things.

[willow]

My mother is a big worry-wart as well.
She is scared of planes, and boats, and driving cars that are not her mini-van. She will hardly consider going on a plane to visit family in Poland, let alone travel for leisure. She is quite beside herself because I have the courage to travel alone, on a plane, in a foreign country...

Fortunately/Unfortunately the trip is two months away so I haven't heard an awakening to the worrying unless someone brings the trip up. I'm sure come August, I'll be up to my ears in her worries.