This seems like the right place to post my recent experience (and may also cross-post under "dumbest things I've done"):
Last month I flew SFO-AMS with an expired 2nd passport. Yes, this is 100% my fault, but also a failure by UA gate agents to ensure I boarded with a valid passport. Of course this was immediately caught when I presented my passport to the Dutch authorities at AMS so I was sent to a special area adjacent to the regular lines. I explained the situation and presented my valid US passport card as well as a photo of my valid first passport.
After a couple of hours I was told that I was likely to be sent back to the US as I did not have valid documents. At that point I begged the officer to admit me as I could obtain a replacement passport from the US consultate the following morning. The officer returned shortly and said that they had been unable to reach anyone at the consultate (by this time it was after 5pm). I then provided them with a screenshot showing the after hours emergency number for the consulate. After about 3 hours I was told that I would not be sent home but that it would take some time to "process the paperwork."
Finally after 5 hours I was given documentation that permitted me to enter the country for 48 hours in order to secure a valid passport. Yay! I walked over to the Sheraton AMS where I had a room waiting. I completed and printed a passport application (DS-11 I think).
The next morning I presented myself to the US Embassy at 8:30am as instructed by the website. I was given a 10:30am appointment along with a list of nearby passport photo shops (the earliest opened at 9am. At 10:30am I was admitted to the embassy. The consular officer told me that I was lucky to be admitted and that the application for an emergency replacement passport does not have a category that covers my situation so they would treat it as a lost passport. Make sure you have credit cards to pay the normal application and expedite fees. By 11:30am I had a brand new US passport. Yay!
Now for those who have not had this experience, please note that the emergency replacement passports have a couple of features that immediately single them out as abnormal: (1) They are super thin and only have 10 pages (2) They expire after one year. Basically they are issued to allow you to go the passport control and board an airplane to return to the USA. Some countries may refuse entry to emergency passport holders.
Sure enough my passport was carefully scrunized by every immigration official and by every gate agent. In most cases the official and GA consulted with a manager before allowing me to proceed. Fortunately I was able to complete my original trip (beyond EU) with only a day lost to a missed connection at AMS.
We considered other options including fedex and having my son fly over with my current passport. But neither of these options proved feasible as the fedex customer support team was less than helpful and I had already told the Dutch authorities that I was going to the embassy.
Coincidentally I received Conditional GE approval just prior to my return to USA, so I did an EOA at SFO. Of course the customs officer had to ask managment if he could process an EOA on an emergency passport - thankfully the answer was yes!
Epilogue: Once you return to the USA, you have to apply for a new 10-year passport. However you can apply by mail using a special form (the same one used for mistakes and name changes) and you don't have to pay the $120 fee again though there is another $60 expedite fee. Mine is currently processing and I will update this post if there are any glitches.
So here are my tips:
- Keep a note on your phone (and in the cloud) with a photo of your current passport
- Bring a US passport card and keep separate from your passport
- Carry extra passport photos
For any US citizen who loses a passport:
- Immediately go online to locate the website for the nearest US embassy or consulate. You should find instructions on what to do and the hours
- Follow instructions to the letter and if possible print a completed application form before visiting the embassy
- Consider fedex if your passport is found, as this will save you the time and signficant hassle of applying for an emergency passport and then a new 10-year passport