Getting your first USA passport overnight ?
 

Hi

I know you can get a lost USA passport replaced in one day ,

But what would you have to take to the passport office if it was your first passport and you needed it overnight ? She is 19 years old.

Birth Certificate plus ? ? ?

Thanks for your help

Rally

Nothing can be done until Monday morning, at which point I would have the young lady call her congressman's nearest business office and seek emergency help.

Why would the congressman' need to get involved ?

I thought getting one overnight ( actually even same day, pick up at 4pm ) was pretty normal.

Just want to make sure she has the correct "papers" and does not need to come back.

photos and Birth Certificate but what else ?

Rally

Did you try looking at this page and calling the appointment number (automated, 24/7)?

http://travel.state.gov/passport/npi...edule_852.html

In last-minute cases like this the LA passport agency should be able to get her a passport immediately. Presumably the things she needs to bring will be the same as for a normal application:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/get...first_830.html

(but they'll almost certainly tell you what to bring when you make the appointment).

It normally takes several weeks.

Here's the list of required documentation and fees for first-time applicants:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/get...first_830.html

The young lady should go to the Los Angeles regional passport office with:

1 Her filled-in application but not signed. (She can fill it in on line, then print it out.)
2 Two passport photos (go to the Auto Club, FedExKinkos or any of numerous passport photo places in town)
3 Her birth certificate or naturalization certificate. (Proof of citizenship)
4 Her Photo ID, usually a drivers license (Proof of ID)
5 Her checkbook or greenback cash for the application fee and expediting fee

6 AND, since she wants the passport overnight, she should present evidence of immediate travel needs, including airline tickets or proof of close relative with grave illness, etc.

Depending on the urgency of the matter, the LA passport office can make the passport on the spot or send it in for expedited treatment. They can issue a passport immediately for truly life or death situations. I personally know of a heart surgeon who got a passport in the Los Angeles office, then was on a plane headed to the patient's location within a few hours.

Most of the time, however, the turnaround time involves sending everything to the National Passport Issuance Center, then getting it from them.

thanks for the info,

not sure she has a drivers license , can she bring something else ?

I know when I did mine I brought another person to sign they knew me, as I could not find my drivers licence.

RB

You could act as an identifying witness and sign for her, if you've known her more than two years and if you have proper identification for yourself. Check the passport website linked above, under the topic "secondary identification." She can also bring a bunch of quasi-official stuff with her name on it (library cards, credit cards, etc) as evidence that she is who she says she is.

I have sort of the same question. My passport got damaged in Asia last week. I went to the US Embassy and got a replacement the same day. The problem is the replacement is only valid for 4 months. I flew back to Hawaii for family Christmas and need to get back to work in Asia next week....HOWEVER several of the countries I work in require at least a 6 month before the passport expires to enter . So my question is if I go to the Honolulu passport office will I be able to get a regular passport the same day thats will be valid longer than 6 months ? Thanks for any help.

Dear OP,

It is passport office policy to take a while to issue passports. An effort to cut down on fraud and lower costs of running office.

Days of popping in and get a passport the same day are long, long gone.

Indeed, you cannot even get into the passport office without an appointment. And, you almost certainly can't get an appointment for today, or tomorrow or until a few weeks off.

Among the few exceptions are immediate, emergency travel need requiring new or replacement passport. And, it better be a real emergency.

And, even then, calling your Representative or Senator's office for assistance in getting speedy appointment is probably most useful.

Don't waste time going to passport office without appointment. You won't get past the guard.

You can most certainly get a passport the same day from passport offices. And it needn't be for any sort of emergency, just immediate travel (I got a replacement the same day from the Boston passport office because I needed to fly back to Australia the same day for work--certainly nothing life or death). There's no need to call a congressman, particularly since their offices are unlikely to get back to you for a while. Passport expeditors can get around the appointment requirements (as they have appointments scheduled every day) if you're unable to get an appointment, though you can sometimes get one quickly on your own.

Had an issue with an expired passport a few years ago (realized mine had expired about 2 hours before my red eye flight to Costa Rica). Missed the flight and spent the whole night trying how to get a new one asap. Called around to several passport agency/expediters, but the major ones all presented at SF or Chicago which would take me a day to get them my documents and another for them to do their magic. Eventually found out I could get a passport same day at the LA office if I could get an appointment. But there were no appointments when I checked that night.

Ended up calling the State Department in DC when they opened in the morning and got a great tip that the LA office automated system opens up appointments at 5:30 in the morning (or somewhere close to that time - maybe 5:45 or 6). This actually applies to all the regional offices, Called back when the woman said I should - got a 10:45 AM appointment. There was no guarantee it could be done same day until I got finished presenting my paperwork at the window - but it was ready by 4 PM. Picked it up and was off to the airport that night.

So maybe call now and see if any appointments have opened up?

You really should be reading the State Dept website for exact info, not relying on this message board. There are many acceptable forms of ID.

www.state.gov

+1

Just did this over Thanksgiving at the Chicago office. Called on Tuesday afternoon, got a 9:00am appointment Wednesday and had my passport at 10:00am Friday (Thursday was the holiday of course, so that was as "overnight" as it could get). I was offered the option of picking it up Wednesday afternoon at 4:00pm but couldn't, but I was shocked when they offered it. PLUS - they didn't charge me the expedited processing fee!

There's no need to call a congressman, particularly since their offices are unlikely to get back to you for a while.

In this case, I agree. However, moving up the chain has its time and place.

I did have to get my Congresswoman involved once when I was in Denver and doing everything by mail. Paid the expedited fee, sent everything off, and waited and waited and waited. Once I started to look into it, I got the run-around as nobody knew where my application and passport were (back then the USPS didn't have tracking services). I would have lost my job if I couldn't have made this trip, and finally I called my Congresswoman's office two days before my trip. I had an appointment with a staffer an hour later, a video conference with the CW herself after explaining my problem, and my passport was waiting for me at the DL check-in counter at DEN two days later.

However, it's important to note that you shouldn't get your Congressperson involved unless you've already started the process and something goes wrong.

Aloha, was the new passport you got for a limited time or was it for the normal time period ? Thanks !