Originally Posted by greg5

I live in Switzerland and my US passport is expiring this coming summer, I don't want to send it in as I may have to travel on short notice. Has anyone requested a second passport by going into an Embassy/Consulate in person, and then after receiving the second passport sent the original in for renewal. Is this possible?

Originally Posted by GUWonder

..... at US embassies/consulates .... It’s not been unusual for me to hear ACS tell US citizens (or their parents) that State won’t cancel the applicant’s current, expiring US passport or their in-process-and-yet-to-be-issued renewal/additional passport in case the applicant needs to use their expiring US passport before the new passport arrives at station; and that the station is willing to return the expiring passport for use in the interim. In other words, there is some allowance in practice for a US passport renewal applicant to retain and use the expiring passport for most of the interim between application submission and renewal passport delivery to the applicant if there is a need for such. I saw this being done just a few months ago again at yet another one of our embassies.