getting appointment at passport agency ?
 

what is best way to show planned travel within 14 days?

thanks!

Airfare receipt or hotel reservation.

hmm, hotel reservation is probably easier. they accept that the same as air?

I've tried hotel reservation and had that denied. So I went across the street/avenue and came back fifteen minutes later with a refundable ticket from a travel agency near the Varick St NYC Passport Agency office and that was fine by them. I canceled the ticket as soon as I got my passport issued later that day -- it wasn't my intention but I had to do so anyway..

i did this once.

has anyone had an airline go after them for fraud for this, or is it only the people who do it all the time for weirder/worse reasons?

I've done it before (not for this reason). It's only the latter group that has to worry. Several stories of folks doing it for lounge access & other stuff.

It's fraud, but unlikely that doing it once would cause a problem. People on refundable tickets do this and pay for the need to be flexible.

Easiest for passport agency is as much documentation as possible. This includes e-ticket receipt (not itinerary), hotel reservations and anything else which has been booked.

It's not fraud.

People buy tickets and book hotel rooms routinely with the expectation that they may change or cancel their travel plans, and that is why they buy tickets or book room rates that can easily be changed or canceled with little to no penalty amount due under the fare/rate rules. It's not fraud; rather it is how airlines and hotels sell more flexible fares/rates at a premium price.

It's fraudulent to represent non-fraudulent behavior as "fraud".

Hotel reservations are not accepted the same as air -- I've seen hotel bookings be considered insufficient -- but maybe that depends on where you are going and the acceptance clerk's geographic knowledge limits.

basically, im concerned about stories of AA going after accounts etc (not legal action) and NOT just large scale offenders

but it seems like airfare is only option, because i dont really want to do 3rd party expediter (if only govt did it..)

Call the passport agency. The policy varies by office:

In Los Angeles, you need an air ticket.
In San Diego, you need nothing.

do not require >
hot springs AR
buffalo NY
aurora CO
detroit MI
el paso TX
honolulu HI
minneapolis MN
san diego CA
seattle WA
st albans VT

That is a good point. The offices have not only varying office hours, they also approach things somewhat differently based on what kind of clients are more typical for a certain region and how much volume they have/expect.

In San Diego, some may need something if traveling within 5 days; but there it could be a compelling story or a ticket.

Some are trying to sell paranoia and may do so via often playing the part of airline/hotel/government lobbyist -- seen it in the AA forum too.

I am sure there are airlines whose FFP you don't use much if at all.

sure (hotels would be easier, and dont operate the same way)

just wondering if there was any alternative - im no expert

Booking a ticket on a carrier like Ethiopian for IAD-ADD doesn't involve ET makin a stink about canceling refundable tickets; and I doubt anyone of us here has many (if any) miles with them for anyone to fuss over.

Hotels may work for some acceptance clerks but I have tried that and seen it refused unlike with tickets for travel within 5 days. If it was Canadian or Mexican hotels or some island hotels, perhaps the response would be different at some offices and/or with some clerks but I had no luck and didn't want to make a fuss since I was going to need to fly anyway.