Passport Expediting Services
 

All of the FT posts on this topic seems to be several years old and none contain recommendations so...

My next "scheduled" international trip is 8 weeks out - Mid-August. At that time my passport will be over 9.5 years old. Just got back from an international conference and one of the hot topics was the length of time it takes for passport renewal. The consensus was that 8 weeks was cutting it too close.

Everyone recommended using an expediter, but the choices seem to be location dependent. I am in Orlando.

Looking for recommendations. Who did you use? Would you use them again?

I just used RushPassport for an expedited visa for Russia and was very happy with the experience. I worked with Tim and Paula in the New York office but the company appears to offer nation-wide service.

If (as this seems to be) the issue is your passport, not a visa, what's wrong with the Passport Service's expedited service?

Also, you didn't say where you're going. Check the requirements of the country/countries you'll visit. Many countries don't require six months from date of entry. If wherever you're going doesn't, just renew it when you get back unless you have frequent travel planned from this trip on.

I use traveldocs.com for all my visa and passport needs and have been very satisfied. You fedex them your documents, they get the visa/passport and Fedex it back, everything is tracked and you can check status online at any time.

If you want someone to handle logistics, use a service. But, if your travel is 8 weeks out and all you need is a US passport, pay the fee, complete the forms and provide a copy of your itinerary.

In a pinch, if your location has a Passport Office, they can issue you a passport in 1/2 day (e.g., show up first in the AM and you leave with it at Noon).

With 8 weeks, you should not need a service.

I appreciate all the responses. I am not near a city with a passport agency.

My concern is twofold; 1) conversations with people who recently (i.e. in 2015), tried to renew their passports indicated 8+ weeks for non-expedited renewals, 2) I may need to travel internationally sooner than the currently-planned mid-August trip. Unable to ask for congressional help as I actively supported the losing candidate in the last election...

Please don't try to convenience me to not use an expediter, just help me find the right one. Looking for renewal experiences during the last 12-18 months.

Some PP offices require an advance reservation.
At http://www.uspassporthelpguide.com/n...ssport-agency/ they seem to expect you to be prompt for your appt. time.

Unless you have a specific need skip the extra cost of a service and just use the expedited option for renewal. Send your renewal application (you can fill it out online then print it) old passport, and passport sized photo via overnight express, pay the extra $60 for expedited processing and the $15 to have it overnight express mailed back to you. I did that in January for my first passport and it took seven from applying to delivery. Current processing time for expedited applications is within 3 weeks.

I have found people who are only interested in an answer and do not listen to advice about the question itself are often asking the wrong question.

You do not need an expediting services, all you need is to pay the extra 60 bucks for expediting (and pay for an overnight envelope if you so choose) and your passport will be back within 3 weeks, if not a lot sooner. By the way, the standard passport processing time right now is 4-6 weeks.

I would guess most people you were talking to about expediting services (compared to the State Department's normal expediting process) were talking about visas, not a passport. There are very few cases in which using a passport expediting services makes sense for a simple application.

book refundable ticket and go to passport agency
appointments are not required, but factor in speed

I didn't pay for expediting, but I did pay for an overnight return shipping. Got Miss Swede's passport in a shade under 4 weeks (late April to just before Memorial Day weekend this year).

If you're referring to passport agencies, then yes, appointments ARE required.

http://travel.state.gov/content/pass.../agencies.html

But OP said he is not near a passport agency office (he appears to be near Orlando, and closest office is in Miami), so moot point for him.

i am one of many who have gone without appointment
they just categorize you differently when you are there
odd there seems to be more discussion on yelp than FT

appointments are obviously not possible for immediate travel, and the last time i went with an appointment, it was 9 days out, when travel has to be within 14 days

some of us would rather go to agency than pay 3rd party. i never understand why government does not sell expedited (like overnight) directly rather than allowing 3rd parties to do it.

You are simply wrong.

1. The government does provide an expedited passport processing service for $60. You can also overnight your documents and have them overnighted back for whatever that costs. Thus <$100.

2. You list your location as DCA/IAD. Washington does have a Passport Agency. You can call the hotline (see website) and show up and have a passport in 2-3 hours for same day travel if need be.

Paying a third-party service to expedite a US passport is both a waste of money and simply adds one more layer to the list of things which can go wrong. These services are worthwhile for certain visas where you are essentially paying people to run around with your passport and other documents so that you yourself don't have to.

only option besides walking in without appointment is 3rd party
hotline gave me appointment 9 days out
i am not the first person to mention walking in on FT
there is also discussion of 3rd party expeditors on FT

I used the government's expedited service ($60 fee) a couple of months ago to renew my passport. I think I had the new passport in my hands about 10 days later.

I want to add one caution, however, based on my recent experience. Your old passport is not returned to you with the new one if you go this route. For some reason, they send back the old passport a couple of weeks later. This would not ordinarily be a problem but my old passport included my Brazil visa which I needed for a trip that was coming up soon. I was very worried but the old passport eventually showed up a few days before I left for that trip. It takes several weeks to get a new Brazil visa. I would have had to cancel the trip if the old passport hadn't shown up when it did.

An employee from the expediter my company uses told me that when they expedite a renewal they get the old passport back at the same time as the new one. Since I didn't go that route, I have no idea if what she was telling me is correct.

Some Passport Agencies seem to require appointments while others do not. At Minnespolis, the phone system (which is very frustrating as a way to schedule an appointment) says that appointments are required, but when you go, there's a separate "line" for those without appointments.

For USA passports, passport services do nothing more than hand holding for a big fee. They also add about a day to the process on each end. It's a ridiculous waste of money unless someone cannot follow simple directions on their own.

OP has a bunch of viable choices, where using a passport service is the worst:

1. Double check whether the destination permits passports within six months of expiring, including details of whether any threshold applies to entry, planned exit, or maximum allowable stay as a tourist or business visitor. If the old passport can still be used, procrastinate on renewal until after the trip.

2. Apply for renewal by mail, pay expedite fees, and relax.

3. Apply for renewal at Pasport Agency. Perhaps not convenient but Orlando to Miami isn't impossible either. Get new passport same day or next day (with evidence of "need), have it mailed next day (with evidence of "need"), or apply for the two week turnaround by mail.

4. Apply for passport renewal without paying the expedite fee, keep fingers crossed, worry, and perhaps risk not being able to take trip as scheduled.

5. Use passport service, pay extra fees for it, go through the inconvenience of filling out their forms in addition to the required government forms, and hope they don't mess up. Remember that you pay ALL applicable federal government fees in addition to the passport agency service fees which can be substantial. For expedited service, you pay the additional $60 fee the same as if you were applying directly to the government.

These passport services don't perform any magic in getting USA passports, including renewals. You pay all of the standard fees. The service simply receives your documents and forwards them to the government, then receives your passport back from the government and sends it to you. The better ones will check that your documents are in order before forwarding them to the government, but do you need to pay someone to do this for you?

If you apply at a Passport Agency, you get the old passport back immediately when you pick up the new passport. You can also get a passport card at the same time, not mailed separately.

Your congressman's constituent service staff will neither know nor care whom you supported. Their job is to help all constituents navigate the bureaucracy.

However, the passport agency is remarkably efficient and I can't help joining the chorus: your best bet is to use the existing expedited service. You'll have your passport in a couple of weeks.

you cannot get what some expeditors can provide from government
different agencies have different minimum times for expeditors
again, there is discussion of using expeditors on FT

there is not a separate line for walk ins at washington agency

my experience >
2011 - appointment 9 days out, traveling 14 days out, got passport same day

2015 - walk in, traveling 5 days out, picked up passport 2 days later
many walk ins including many same day travel - some picked up same day
after checking in, they give you a number with a letter, re letters >
seems like 2 priority, appointment, walk in same day, other walk in

An expediter will save you the hassle form going to the passport agency in person - this can easily save you 4-6 hours (e.g. New York) + 2 trips. Expediters have standing appointments and bypass the line.

OP, it's rare to get unanimity of opinion like this on FT!

In some cases, the passport service agency just sends the documents to the government by mail or FedEx. If these operations are useful, they can help where a consulate (for instance, China) demands that visa applications be submitted and retrieved by a person rather than through mail or some courier service. In some cases, they do have an established relationship with the local consulate, but this doesn't help if they don't have a local office in the city of the consulate that you must use. [Maybe they subcontract out to a different visa service agency in these cases, resulting in yet another round of documents being mailed of FedExed, with the resulting delay of at least another day on each end. For example, I know of a travel agency located in the general MSP area that claims to specialize in getting Chinese visas, but the nearest Chinese consulate is located in Chicago. I somehow don't believe that they send a staff member to Chicago for these errands.]

True, depending on the situation. However, you must instead find/select a passport service to use, then read all of their instructions and complete their forms (in addition to the USA government instruction and forms), and finally arrange to mail (certified/registered presumably, so add a trip to the post office and standing in line in person during their full service hours) or FedEx the packet to them, sometimes including a return envelope or FedEx form.

The US triages the in-person appointments based on your travel date. If you're leaving in 10 days, they'll try to do it in 9 or less. They're not going to give you an appointment based on what's convenient to you- just based on your travel date. 8 weeks is plenty of time if you pay the US expediting fees.

If you really want one quick, it's a little sneaky, but you could book a trip 10 days from now and cancel later.

My son may have a record of getting his passport renewed.
Walked in at 9AM in Philly passport office (his appt was 8AM, but train was late from NY), explained his flight was leaving in 2 hours. Walked out 30 minutes later with a new passport. Caught his flight to Mexico.
Yes, there were many people at the passport agency ahead of him.

I'd be very interested if the expediter comments can be verified. I thought it was sop to separate old and new passport and to have old returned later as you indicate. Does the expediter just wait until he has both in hand before returning to customer? I don't believe there is any way to indicate the need to have both documents on any form.

Reading with interest as my passport has a year left, but going to China in early February, want 10 year visa in new passport, and am considering timing of renewal in Dec Jan time frame. Expedited fees and overnighting seem to make sense and then visa. The consulate is in Chicago so no issues there.

Probably 20 years ago, they were raising the PP fee, doing the math, it was cheaper to renew 3 years early. I mailed my renewal appl. on a Saturday, I received my new PP on Thursday (5 days later)--this was done in Feb. or Mar. ("off season")...but NO expedited (anything), all by regular US Mail.
[I recollect the processing center was in Pittsburg.]

Join Date: Apr 2002

i was also surprised how 'authentication' worked (the other thing handled at passport agencies)

hotline gives appointment, you dont give travel date

not sure re queue, but recall reading of others that fast
interesting how it varies, but that they can deliver

btw re waiting at an agency, if your number is called and there is still someone being served, interrupt them. (just to let employee see that your number was called.) if you dont, and your number disappears, employee may have no way of knowing that your number did come up.

If you need the passport to get a visa, you can ask the Passport Agency to give you the new passport (and also the old one and any passport card in practice) back either the same day or the next business day. You don't have to wait for these items to be sent to you, possibly separately.

I've used an expedition service but it was 10 years ago, and I can't remember which one it was. It was three days before my international trip and I lost my passport. I didn't have time to travel to another city and passport agency because of work.

I had to FedEx my information to them, and then I guess they went in person to the agency, and they FedExed my passport to a FedEx facility near LAX. I had a four hour layover there, and cabbed over to the facility and picked up my passport. Felt like something out of the Amazing Race.

If you have three days? Third-party expedition service. Eight weeks? Just use the expedition with the passport agency and spring for overnight shipping.

So is it better to go to the passport agency in person vs using the expedited mail service. I'm fine with going to the office downtown to have a passport sooner than mail.

OK. I went with Door #2 (above). The renewal package went out yesterday via USPS 2nd Day. Paid the expediting fees. Agency website says 3 weeks or less. Will report back.

Oh, and as I feared, I just had a business conversation that might result in a short-notice trip to either Cayman or Bermuda during the next 4 weeks...

If you need it done ASAP and either don't have the time to visit your local passport agency or don't live reasonably close to one, a service is probably your best option. If you do live reasonably close and can set aside a day to go there, then doing it yourself is (imo) the best option. Note that the former option also costs quite a bit more due to the service fees and (if applicable) overnight shipping costs involved.

If you're talking about just using the State Department's expedited service, then that's really up to you and 1) how quickly you need it and 2) how willing/able you are to go to your local agency and possibly stand around all day vs. shipping it off in the mail. If 2 weeks ain't quick enough for you, you have your answer.

One more question. Can the local passport agencies issue the larger number of pages passport. or only by mail I don't want to say extra pages cuz I know there are extra added anymore but I don't want to gave to get a new one any earlier next time around.

Yes, the Passport Agency locations can issue new passports with more pages. You check the box on the renewal form and IIRC the policy is that they do it if they think you need the additional pages, just the same as if you were applying by mail. Probably the best argument is if your current passport is full.

Great .. thanks, the passport speaks for itself