How do I add more pages to my American passport in Singapore?

Question: “How do I add more pages to my American passport in Singapore?”

Why Do I Care: I was in Singapore, and was ready to continue traveling for months, until I looked in my American passport to see there were only four more pages left; far too few for what lay ahead. I had no money to spare, so this was important to properly research.

Answer: I found out that any American embassy will add new pages into an American passport, for free, so long as the passport is in good enough condition. It takes a few days. Drop it off, wait, then pick it up.

Conclusion: Well, I took a bus down to the American Embassy in Singapore. The security was tight. I had to fill out a form. While I was filling out my form, a middle aged black American guy was yelling at the embassy through the glass. “I want to give up my citizenship! Just tell me how to renounce my citizenship!” he yelled. The room was tense, but I just laughed. I understood. They took my Passport and form, gave me a slip of paper, and I collected it about four or five days later, now twice as thick. They just sewed in the added pages, sealed it in with tape, and presto, 24 new pages.

Other countries have a harder time. My Australian friend had to get a whole new visa when it ran out of pages, for a cost of like AU$300. Asking around, that seems the norm. I think it’s outrageous that a passport should cost so much. US passports cost, I believe, still under $100. I think it should be a right, not an expensive privilege, to travel.

Links:

http://singapore.usembassy.gov/add_extra_visa_pages.html