I got notice that my renewed passport should be coming around 2/3.
So:
12/30 - dropped application in mail, including self-taken passport photo
1/8 - email notice indicating the application was received.
1/11 - check cashed
1/27 - email notice that the application was approved, should get new passport book around 2/3, notes the normal application processing time is 10-12 weeks.
I didn't pay for express service.
I wasn't expecting the quick turnaround necessarily. My old passport was due to expire at end of August so I would have been fine getting it back say by early April or so.
Got my passport back today. They issued it less than a month after I sent it in. They even sent it by Priority Mail!
A couple of things:
1. I didn't get my old passport back. But there is an insert saying I would get the ID documents back in a separate mailing?
2. I don't recall but the new Passport has a completely different number?
Also no sign of RFID or some technological advance since 10 years ago.