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Passport application locator codes (retyped from above because the image is tiny; also, text is searchable):

10: Boston
34: Charleston
42: New Orleans
51: Miami
55: Dallas
57: San Francisco
61: Tucson
68: New Hampshire
74: Atlanta
78: El Paso

Curiously, my locator number was 68 (New Hampshire) but the new passport was mailed from Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FabCW (Post 33427355)

How do you know what number corresponds to what office? Mine starts with “61”.

My locator starts with 79 but looking at the label it came from Tucson. Got mine in 30 days.

Quote:

Originally Posted by txviking (Post 33429601)

Mine is in Houston, TX and begins with 79. So will add that to your list.

Wait so if I made handwritten changes on an already prefilled form from online then the processing of my passport will take longer?

Update!

7/22: Passports arrived today via Priority Mail! I'm surprised it came this early since I just got the notification yesterday that it was 'Approved.'

Historical Timeline:
4/20: Passports sent by Priority Mail for routine service
4/24: Arrives at mailing center in Irving, Texas
5/19: At around 8 pm Pacific time, I received emails notifying me of a status change from 'Not Available' to 'Processed,' with a message saying they are currently processing in 10-12 weeks.
5/20: The checks were cashed.
7/21: Received an email that my passport status is now 'Approved' and is expected to arrive by July 27th.

House bill targets US passport backlog

Quote:

Lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation on Thursday that would require the Biden administration to submit a plan to eliminate the massive U.S. passport backlog.

The Passport Backlog Elimination Act was introduced by Democratic Reps. Gerry Connolly (Va.) and Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.) and GOP Reps. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) and Tim Burchett (Tenn.).

The bill focuses on staffing shortages at the State Department that have caused the passport backlog, requiring the agency to ensure processing time is six to eight weeks for applications and two to three weeks for expedited applications.

…

The legislation would give the State Department a 30-day deadline to submit a plan, which must then be implemented within one month. The State Department inspector general would also have to submit an audit on the effectiveness of the plan within six months of the bill's enactment.

"Too many of our constituents are left in limbo, not sure if they will receive their passport in time," Connolly said. "Some don't even know the status of their application, and others have been forced to forego travel altogether. While I appreciate the efforts of State Department employees as they work to reduce this backlog, the need for substantial improvement remains."

I received my passport today as well! Full timeline:

4/19: Applied in person at courthouse
5/19: Application status changed to "In Process"
7/19: Passport issued
7/22: Passport in hand

Still waiting for my passport card and my Certificate of Naturalization.

As time goes on, more and more stories on this issue are being published. From yesterday comes this :one...

Quote:

Americans Can't Travel Because State Department Employees Won't Work
Massive passport-processing delays, due to COVID restrictions and staffing shortages, are ruining summer travel plans and prompting fantastical workarounds.

Next week, my dual-citizen wife will take a previously unplanned five-hour flight from New York to a city out west, rent an expensive car (all car rentals are expensive nowadays), drive a couple of hours, spend the night at a hotel, then go to a first-thing-in-the-morning appointment at a State Department agency to receive her "expedited" U.S. passport renewal that she originally applied for more than three months ago.

This thousand-dollar detour, made necessary by our pending trip to see the in-laws in France (COVID having scrambled the ability for dual nationals to traverse freely between countries on just one of the two passports), has been playing out all over the country, as Americans with immovable travel dates scramble to deal with consular processing that has slowed to a crawl.

...

7/2: passport dropped off at USPS
7/12: application "In progress"
7/13: check cashed
7/23: approved
?/??: PLACEHOLDER FOR RECEIVING THE PASSPORT

-this is my infant kid's (3 months old) first passport
-went to USPS in Santa Clara, CA (95054)
-I wrote on the application we wanted to travel on 7/15 (not sure if it mattered)
-paid for expedite
-application #17xxxx (no idea where this is, will update once I receive the passport)
-didn't contact any government officials
-never received any email from DOS... despite signing up for notification

pretty impressive turnaround time, good luck everyone!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by beepyou (Post 33432310)

That's really fast! You wrote 7/15 not 8/15?

First Time passport (two adults, Expedited)

6/16 Applied at post office in LA
6/22 In Progress
7/20 Approved (both)
7/23 Received (both)
Locator numbers 34XXXXX and passports came from Tucson AZ

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaDeGirL01 (Post 33385953)

Expedited Timeline with 1-2 Express Delivery:
6/29/21: Applied in Person at County Clerk Recorder
7/06/21: Shows up "In Process"

Update:
7/24/21: DoS Approval Email -Application Status: Approved

The U.S. Department of State approved your application for your passport book. We're now printing your passport book and preparing to give it to you.

You requested expedited service when you applied, which we are currently processing within 6 weeks. You should receive your passport book on or around 07/28/2021.

Start to finish ~4 weeks! This is a huge RELIEF. Still waiting for passport book in hand but one step closer to our international trip. Good luck everyone! :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaDeGirL01 (Post 33435296)

Congratulations. And if expedited service is back down to six weeks (from twelve) it's sounding like the noise around passport delays lit some fires in the DoS!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaDeGirL01 (Post 33435296)

Update from me, as you originally posted in reply to my timeline which as similar to yours:

6-13 I filled out and filed a DS-64 form as my passport which was renewed in 2019 was missing. I still had the card. I then made an appointment at the local post office.

6-15 I went to post office pictures taken, and the application was mailed. I surrendered my passport card. I paid for expedited. We have a trip August 12 to Greece, and thought that was plenty of time as the wait time was 4 to 6 weeks. I did not pay for overnight.

6-18 Check cashed and went into processing. I thought great, this will be done in no time. There were no stories about delays then.

I began to hear horror stories mid-July so contacted my local representative to be safe on July 12. A staff member contacted me that same day named Cameron. He has been wonderful.

Cameron found out my passport was in Houston and kept on them for updates

Nothing happened. Nothing Happened. Nothing Happened.

7-20 a staff member in Houston called me and told me that they did not have my DS-64 nor my passport card which had to be surrendered. I told him that I did the DS-64 online and it showed successfully filed on 6-13. I also told him that the passport card was surrendered to the post office and if lost it was between there and his office. I did not tell him what I was thinking. How the hell do you lose an online form? It would be like your hospital telling you that they lost your online x-ray. He asked me to resend the form. I asked if I could print it and sign and scan it in attaching to an email. He said that he would ask and call me back. He did and his supervisor said no, that they now needed a physical one. So I overnighted one to the address that he provided for $28 along with a check for $17.56 for them to overnight the passport to me. I checked the box for the lost passport card too now, because apparently they lost it between my post office and their offices. I received proof that it arrived at 1:30 pm the next day.

Then nothing, nothing, nothing.

I contacted Cameron this morning, attaching proof of delivery. He contacted them and said that he had to call five times before getting a text back where they said that they had the form in hand and were processing.

We already passed the point of losing part of our payment on our trip which was $9,500 for the two of us. On Saturday we lose the opportunity to cancel and get 70% back.

Admittedly it is my fault for misplacing the passport. I freely admit that. And Cameron has been wonderful. But still, it is frustrating.

It feels like we finally may get this done, and in time, but if there was not constant pressing I doubt that will be so.

And I will not feel completely safe until the passport is in hand.