Passport Renewal
 

I sent my passport in to be renewed in mid June. Just checked the other day and they said they started work on June 27th, but to allow 20 business days from then.

I had not asked for expedited renewal, as the agent at the post office said the turn around was quick. The passport agent on the phone told me it was running around 7 weeks!

How long have all of yours been taking? I had hoped to make a trip abroad quickly, but do not have a ticket, so I could not visit the agency in person for immediate renewal.

I am now out of town. Will they mail the passport elsewhere, or will that just raise flags?

Thanks in advance!

My friend recently renewed his and it took 5 1/2 weeks.

Mine took 4 weeks. I didn't pay for expedited, but I did list a departure date that was a month away. Of course they didn't bother to read my request for a 48 page passport so I've spent a week straightening that out.....

I renewed mine in December.

No special processing requested. I had it back in 3 weeks...

William

Thanks, all!
 

So, I just spoke to the Passport agency once again this morning at about 7:30. First of all, it was nice that my call was answered very quickly. I must also commend the representative, who was very friendly and extremely helpful.

I know from before that they started work on my passport on June 27th. It was a straightforward renewal, but I have asked for a 48 page passport, just in case. :)

He told me that they were about 1/4 done, and that it would likely take until July 20th. I mentioned that they seemed busy, and he told me that since the announcement that passports would be required for travel to Canada and Mexico, requests have skyrocketed.

He was extremely helpful in telling me how to arrange to change where my passport will be mailed, offering to e-mail the agency himself with the new information while I write a letter with the same instructions.

It's nice to get a helpful, courteous person on the phone, isn't it? :D

Experience renewing while living overseas
 

Just slightly OT. What has other's experience been when renewing your US passport while living overseas?

Mine took about 3 weeks. I actually checked & they said they hadn't started it... came the same day :)

It depends, but it generally requires waiting a longer time for the National US Passport Agency to send it back to the embassy/consulate (i.e., from the US).

A side-note for anyone who gets the SSSS treatment frequently in the US: if you get the SSSS treatment as a result of having a (generally mistaken) "name-match" related to one of the various blacklists (no-fly, watch, IBIS, etc.), applying for a passport when overseas may involve extra time (and extra procedures/processes).

A quicker way would be to do it at a passport office in some major cites. I was going to do this last summer up in Washington D.C. We went to the post office to get more details. We wanted to do this because we wanted to go to London in August. The post-man then said it would be and extra 100 or so dollars to get it done in one day. Of course, Mom said no right away to that. Long story short, we ended up mailing it off sometime in September to get it renewed. Never got to go to London either. It came about 5 weeks later and I didn't ask for it to be expedited to like 4 weeks instead. I got to go to London that November.

Actually, there is a passport office in Philadelphia on Chestnut Street. I had planned to go there and renew the passport in person. However, in order to go to the agency in person, you must make an appointment. but in order to make an appointment, you must produce a ticket showing that you are leaving the country in two weeks or less. If you cannot, then you cannot have an appointment at the agency. I had neither a ticket nor a visa, so I could not go.

I believe this is a change in policy, as I do know people who have been able to go in person in the past.

Just buy a fully refundable ticket to somewhere outside the US. Make your appointment, go to the Agency, and afterwards cancel your ticket.

Of course!
 

Should have thought of that one! @:-) Oh, well, I will be good for ten years now, but definitely something to keep in mind... Thanks!

The passport folks do seem to be pretty close to capacity right now. I filed my initial passport application in May. My receipt and the post office clerk taking the app indicated that it would take a maximum of 6 weeks to process. When I got within a few days of the deadline, I attempted to call to check the status. The phone system was so overloaded, it would disconnect me after 30 seconds of waiting for an operator. So, instead, I sent an email status request. The website claims these are answered within 2 days, however mine took 4. In the end, I recieved my passport 6 weeks and one day after I applied. I don't know if its just people going on summer vactions, or the impending Canada/Mexico rule changes, but things seem to be busier than normal. The P.O. clerk stated that 6 weeks was the maximum, and normal turnaround was closer to 4.

Maybe.

I walk by the DC passport office most every day, and it has been wall to wall people the last month or so. The wait in line looks awful.

It's often that way during the summer or a few weeks before peak travel seasons. Go a few weeks after area schools start up again and the crowd diminishes.