KCK

Anyone have experience getting an emergency replacement of a US passport? My daughter can't find her passport and her flight leaves this evening.

She lives in Washington DC. She tried to get an appointment at the Passport Office using the automated system (at 1 am). It said none were available until next Thursday. Her plan is to get photos and go to the Passport Office in the morning (unfortunately, they, like the rest of the Federal offices, are opening 2 hours late due to the snow). Her chances? Any advice?

sfo

Next time your daughter decides to travel outside the country, one of the first things she should do prior to purchasing tickets etc. is to ensure that she has in her possession her passport and correct documentation and "knows where it is."
Hope she has a refundable airline ticket.

GUWonder

There is no harm in going into the regional passport agency without an appointment as sometimes they manage to squeeze the person in. Just make sure to have everything required to get the renewal for these kind of circumstances.

That wouldn't necessarily help as people sometimes do lose a passport or the passport gets misplaced or stolen despite the passport holder having known where the passport was at some point prior to or even after purchasing tickets.

.... or that she gets an understanding airline rep at the airport who makes a penalty-free change due to the circumstances.

Ari

Way to help out the OP!

kadxed

I did a quick search and found this:

https://www.rushmypassport.com/company/locations.html

Pricey but maybe worth a phone call to see if she can get an appointment at their DC office today. You never know.

I've never used them and know nothing about the company. Maybe others here can chime in.

Yaatri

True it doesn't help the OP, but it is rather unsual that one finds out the day before their flight that they cannot locate their passport.
I would go to the Regional passport agency without an appointment and try to get a passport If a commercial entity can do it for you,. you can do it yourself too.

GUWonder

It seems a daily occurrence that a US citizen cannot find their US passport and goes into a frenzy to try to get a replacement the day of or in the few days before a trip.

Better to find out the day before than the day of travel.

When it comes to commercial entities providing expedited passport or visa document services, it may be that some of them have pre-blocked appointment times at a particular facility that may not be available to others directly. When those appointments aren't used to provide for service to commercial entity's customers, the opening may well become available to another. Best to show up very early -- even before opening hours -- at the DC passport office in a manner like this. Usually, they've been very helpful and quick when I've been there for anything from personal renewal passports to passport fixes.

Yaatri

You got me there.

You mean like those touts at places like Thailand Cambodian border, who could get you visa on arrival quickly (that's supposed to be issued on the spot to anyone who applies with a valid passport), but if you apply on your own, you will have to wait for along long time. Getting more and more like a third world.

I got my first passport in 20 minutes in Philadelphia. No appointment was required. I walked in with and application, photographs and my plane ticket in hand (they didn't even ask for them) and walked out with my firt passport 20 minutes later. There was no charge for expedite service either.
Now you pay for expedite service and you still might not get your passport the same day. God forbid if you ask for something special like a 48 page passport.

Ari

I had to replace a passport urgently (not mine!) and they did it same-day, no problem. This was in Chicago.

They don't make those anymore; they will "pre-annex" the passport for you with the A-through-X pages in the middle. The passport I replaced the same day was requested (and provided) pre-annexed, by the way.

cordelli

If you can not get in, I would try one of the passport handling services. They have daily blocks of time and could do it for you (of course they will charge you too)

amejr999

Might be too late at this point, but call your Congress(wo)man's office right away.

Yaatri

I am not sure what you are trying to say. I did not say you shall not get your passport the same day. I have got mine every time the same day too, the last time in Dec 2006. They tried to tell me to comeback the following day, as I was still more than a week away from my trip and my passport had another 45 days of life left in it. But I had to get a visa to China too. The officer claimed I had enough time. Finally he relented.


Since when? This was in Dec 2006. They didn't tell me they didn't make those anymore. They said they had run out and suggested that I resubmit to have pages added and they would gladly add them for free if I wanted to do it by mail and wait for the normal processing time for a new passport or apply in person and pay expedited fee AGAIN. Mine was not provided pre-annexed. Clearly, there is no set policy then. Why was my request denied? Within 6 months I had only six pages left. I requested to have pages added to my passport in Bucharest along with those of my wife and children. They couldn't add pages to mine as they didn't have the right kind of pages. eventually, I got the pages added in Singapore in a subsequent trip. Just because yours was pre-appended does not mean what I am relating did not happen. @:-)

Yaatri

Congressman/woman can help their constituents. But the time is really short.

cordelli

When we renewed our passports a few years ago we requested the 48 page ones and were told they were not making them anymore. They stopped issuing them for a while starting in December of 2005.

There have been quite a few threads about some people getting them, and others being told there is no such thing

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...rt-anyone.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...passports.html



etc

As always YMMV

Yaatri

That Ari and I had different experiences confirms what you just said.