Originally Posted by
gfunkdave
I seem to remember them saying 6-8 weeks the last time I renewed my passport, and getting it in about 2-3 weeks. Perhaps they just consistently underpromise and overdeliver. Refreshing from government!
That is indeed the general approach. Most applicants are currently still getting them -- without paying the expedite fee -- within 4 weeks. And in-person applications from abroad are getting issued even faster.
There is a lot of the "managing expectations" involved in stating 6-8 weeks. Also, the expedite fee revenue may dry up if more people were confident about when they could get the passport back in 10-15 business days even without the expedite fee. And the government isn't so eager to give up revenue like this.