Originally Posted by
dtokuda
Applied at a U.S. consulate in South Africa, regular service, on May 11.
Printed and mailed on May 11, arrived at consulate May 17. Passport card arrived May 26. It was an ePassport and not NextGen.
All passport service at US embassies/consulates comes back as if it’s expedited service even as there is no fee for such applicable.
At US embassies/consulates, it’s only in the event of a mess-up that the passport card would ever arrive before the passport.
4-6/7 business days from application to passport availability at the major missions seems to be the norm from what I’ve seen as of late. Passport card comes back about the way you saw it. Keep in mind that if the passport card is meant to be picked up at the mission and isn’t picked up after it arrives there, then 90 days later the passport card could be on its way out for disposal.