Mar 1, 2022, 6:35 am
Last edit by: CKDGM
Passport Agency Appointments (same day expedited service)
Appointments for same-day expedited service often go quickly. It is best that you schedule your appointment with the passport agency exactly 14 days before your trip. You will want to call the passport number before the center opens at 8am EST as they will have just opened up one day (14 days out) of appointments at all agencies. Appointment times start at 8am. It is important that you have enough buffer in your travel schedule. For example, if you make an appointment for a new passport at 11am and your time of travel is at 2pm, there will not be enough time for you to get your passport. If you book the 8am slot you may have to wait until the end of the business day to get your new passport or it may only be a few hours.
You will want to have your date of travel, time of travel, your flight itinerary number, name of destination, full name of applicant, and applicant's birth city, and the zip code of where you live (to help them find the closest available center with open slots). Use the following steps to increase your chances of success to booking an appointment as they can go very quickly:
Credit: chgoeditor
Known office locator numbers (not complete)
Note: The office code (first two digits of your application locator number returned by Passport Status) is the office reviewing your documents and approving your application. It isn't necessarily the address you mailed the forms to (always Irving or Philadelphia for renewals) nor the facility where the book is physically printed and mailed (often Tucson or Hot Springs).
10: Boston
11: NYC
12: Honolulu
14: Stamford, CT
15: Portsmouth, NH
17: Aurora, CO
18: Chicago
19: Washington, DC
20-29: Portsmouth, NH
34-39: Charleston
40-42: New Orleans, LA
45: Portsmouth, NH
50: Los Angeles, CA
51: Miami
53: Seattle
54: Minneapolis
55: Dallas
56: Detroit
57: San Francisco
58: Philadelphia, PA
61-64: Tucson
65: Hot Springs, AR
67: San Juan, PR
68: Portsmouth, NH
69: Portsmouth, NH
71: US embassies/consulates abroad (possibly Portsmouth, NH)
74: Atlanta
75: St Albans, VT
76: San Diego, CA
77: Buffalo, NY
78: El Paso, TX
79: Houston, TX
80: Special Issuance Agency ("Issues diplomatic, official, service, and no-fee regular passports, and facilitates visa processing for those traveling on behalf of the U.S. government.")
95: Online
A list of agencies and their locator numbers is listed on this page under the heading, "List of passport agencies and centers with locator numbers."
H/T Nayef, txviking, and various individual posts both here and on Reddit. If you have a locator not in the above list, check the return address agency name or postmark/ZIP on your returned citizenship docs, or passport card if you applied for one, which may be the processing office, although the address itself is likely to be a PO Box in Sterling, VA in all cases (which appears to be a lockbox location that processes mail for all locations). The passport books are printed in fewer locations, often Hot Springs and Tucson, and may not correspond to the agency where the processing steps occurred. If it doesn’t match the list above, please add or correct.
Appointments for same-day expedited service often go quickly. It is best that you schedule your appointment with the passport agency exactly 14 days before your trip. You will want to call the passport number before the center opens at 8am EST as they will have just opened up one day (14 days out) of appointments at all agencies. Appointment times start at 8am. It is important that you have enough buffer in your travel schedule. For example, if you make an appointment for a new passport at 11am and your time of travel is at 2pm, there will not be enough time for you to get your passport. If you book the 8am slot you may have to wait until the end of the business day to get your new passport or it may only be a few hours.
You will want to have your date of travel, time of travel, your flight itinerary number, name of destination, full name of applicant, and applicant's birth city, and the zip code of where you live (to help them find the closest available center with open slots). Use the following steps to increase your chances of success to booking an appointment as they can go very quickly:
- 14 days before your trip, you need to schedule an appointment with the passport agency.
- At 7:55 am call the passport number 877-487-2778 (This have to be exactly 14 days before your plane ticket or less. If less, it will get harder to find an appointment)
- Click 1 (For English)
- Click 2 (New Passport)
- Continue to Click 7 to repeat, and keep doing this while watching your watch or using Time.gov to get the exact time down to the second.
- When your it hits exactly 8:00 am Click 2 (for traveling within 14 days option)
- There will be a delay of 3-4 second and you will wait for the next available agent. If you are very lucky, you will be put straight through to an agent. You may be waiting few minutes or maybe as long as 15-20 minutes.
- If you did not click 1 exactly at 8 am, you may have to wait for more than an hour and half
Credit: chgoeditor
Known office locator numbers (not complete)
Note: The office code (first two digits of your application locator number returned by Passport Status) is the office reviewing your documents and approving your application. It isn't necessarily the address you mailed the forms to (always Irving or Philadelphia for renewals) nor the facility where the book is physically printed and mailed (often Tucson or Hot Springs).
10: Boston
11: NYC
12: Honolulu
14: Stamford, CT
15: Portsmouth, NH
17: Aurora, CO
18: Chicago
19: Washington, DC
20-29: Portsmouth, NH
34-39: Charleston
40-42: New Orleans, LA
45: Portsmouth, NH
50: Los Angeles, CA
51: Miami
53: Seattle
54: Minneapolis
55: Dallas
56: Detroit
57: San Francisco
58: Philadelphia, PA
61-64: Tucson
65: Hot Springs, AR
67: San Juan, PR
68: Portsmouth, NH
69: Portsmouth, NH
71: US embassies/consulates abroad (possibly Portsmouth, NH)
74: Atlanta
75: St Albans, VT
76: San Diego, CA
77: Buffalo, NY
78: El Paso, TX
79: Houston, TX
80: Special Issuance Agency ("Issues diplomatic, official, service, and no-fee regular passports, and facilitates visa processing for those traveling on behalf of the U.S. government.")
95: Online
A list of agencies and their locator numbers is listed on this page under the heading, "List of passport agencies and centers with locator numbers."
H/T Nayef, txviking, and various individual posts both here and on Reddit. If you have a locator not in the above list, check the return address agency name or postmark/ZIP on your returned citizenship docs, or passport card if you applied for one, which may be the processing office, although the address itself is likely to be a PO Box in Sterling, VA in all cases (which appears to be a lockbox location that processes mail for all locations). The passport books are printed in fewer locations, often Hot Springs and Tucson, and may not correspond to the agency where the processing steps occurred. If it doesn’t match the list above, please add or correct.
Current US passport wait? (Merged Threads)
Jul 27, 2021, 9:27 am
#1502
Join Date: Jul 2021
Posts: 13
'Good Morning,
Thankyou for your inquiry.
Application #******** for ************ passport was approved and issued today July 27, 2021. Tracking number is unavailable at this time.
Respectfully,
Congressional Liaison
Houston Passport Agency Co'
I do hope that times are improving. But if you have a strong deadline it is worth reaching out to your local congressional staff. Glitches do happen, especially with a backlog of around 2 million applications, and the staff does help.
JF
Jul 28, 2021, 10:38 am
#1504
Join Date: Jul 2021
Posts: 19
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!
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!
Jul 28, 2021, 5:14 pm
#1505
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: NC
Programs: AAConciergeKey/1MM, DL DM/2 MM, UA Gold,Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 11,967
Is the latest current wait time 12 weeks? or has it grown even more?
Is there still the same $60 expedited fee despite the same rushed service?
Are there any expeditors providing a 24-hour turnaround? even for substantial cost?
Has anyone been able to go in person for an appointment?
Is there still the same $60 expedited fee despite the same rushed service?
Are there any expeditors providing a 24-hour turnaround? even for substantial cost?
Has anyone been able to go in person for an appointment?
Jul 28, 2021, 5:22 pm
#1506
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Colorado (anywhere between DEN DMM BAH)
Programs: United MileagePlus, SkyMiles, AAdvantage, NEXUS
Posts: 3,030
Is the latest current wait time 12 weeks? or has it grown even more?
Is there still the same $60 expedited fee despite the same rushed service?
Are there any expeditors providing a 24-hour turnaround? even for substantial cost?
Has anyone been able to go in person for an appointment?
Is there still the same $60 expedited fee despite the same rushed service?
Are there any expeditors providing a 24-hour turnaround? even for substantial cost?
Has anyone been able to go in person for an appointment?
Jul 28, 2021, 7:20 pm
#1507
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 284
Passport received. End to end routine processing time.
I received my renewal passport today. The entire timeline:
May 5th: mailed application to the Philadelphia routine processing mailbox via Priority Mail, electronic signature receipt
May 8th. Application received in Philadelphia and signed for.
June 16th. Application shows up in system as received 6/16 and "In Process". 5 1/2 weeks in mailroom/lockbox limbo.
July 26th. Application shows "Approved". Just over 5 1/2 weeks in "In Process" status.
July 27th. Passport shipped
July 28th. Passport received (I did pay the extra $17 for overnight).
Total elapsed time from mailing application to new passport in hand, 12 weeks on the nose.
This was routine processing, I have no travel planned until late Fall and that is to Canada which I could use my valid, unexpired NEXUS card for instead of a passport if it came to that. I mostly renewed it when I did because I've always held a valid passport since 1986 and mine was expiring in October.
They appear to be speeding up. My actual processing time was 5 1/2 weeks once it showed as "received", far less than the 12 weeks warned about on the website (18 weeks including "mailing" time).
I do have an issue with the disingenuous "mailing" time, since most of that time is not in the hands of USPS, but rather in their mailroom. I did some internet research and found that it is actually pre-processing (OCR scanning, etc) outsourced to Citibank. Why they are putting the blame for the inordinate "mailing" time on USPS instead of the actual culprit, their contractor, Citibank, is a matter of speculation.
In any case, good luck to those of you in a time crunch. The relatively short time, 5 1/2 weeks, spent "In Process" for this routine renewal should be good news.
For those of you keeping track, while my application was sent to Philly, my passport was issued by the New Orleans office.
May 5th: mailed application to the Philadelphia routine processing mailbox via Priority Mail, electronic signature receipt
May 8th. Application received in Philadelphia and signed for.
June 16th. Application shows up in system as received 6/16 and "In Process". 5 1/2 weeks in mailroom/lockbox limbo.
July 26th. Application shows "Approved". Just over 5 1/2 weeks in "In Process" status.
July 27th. Passport shipped
July 28th. Passport received (I did pay the extra $17 for overnight).
Total elapsed time from mailing application to new passport in hand, 12 weeks on the nose.
This was routine processing, I have no travel planned until late Fall and that is to Canada which I could use my valid, unexpired NEXUS card for instead of a passport if it came to that. I mostly renewed it when I did because I've always held a valid passport since 1986 and mine was expiring in October.
They appear to be speeding up. My actual processing time was 5 1/2 weeks once it showed as "received", far less than the 12 weeks warned about on the website (18 weeks including "mailing" time).
I do have an issue with the disingenuous "mailing" time, since most of that time is not in the hands of USPS, but rather in their mailroom. I did some internet research and found that it is actually pre-processing (OCR scanning, etc) outsourced to Citibank. Why they are putting the blame for the inordinate "mailing" time on USPS instead of the actual culprit, their contractor, Citibank, is a matter of speculation.
In any case, good luck to those of you in a time crunch. The relatively short time, 5 1/2 weeks, spent "In Process" for this routine renewal should be good news.
For those of you keeping track, while my application was sent to Philly, my passport was issued by the New Orleans office.
Last edited by zephyr17; Jul 28, 2021 at 9:45 pm
Jul 28, 2021, 8:19 pm
#1508
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Florida
Programs: Delta SkyMiles; Hilton HHonors; NEXUS; National Emerald Club Executive
Posts: 365
I do have an issue with the disingenuous "mailing" time, since most of that time is not in the hands of USPS, but rather in their mailroom. I did some internet research and found that it is actually pre-processing (OCR scanning, etc) outsourced to Citibank. Why they are putting the blame for the inordinate "mailing" time on USPS instead of the actual culprit, their contractor, Citibank, is a matter of speculation.
I didn't know Citibank was handling opening/scanning mail for them. To me, that should raise some questions about letting a private corporation with a history of information security breaches handle something as sensitive as passport applications, but the use of contractors by the federal government is widespread. Either way, interesting tidbit of information, thank you!
Last edited by txviking; Jul 28, 2021 at 8:30 pm
Jul 28, 2021, 9:53 pm
#1509
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 284
Citi appears to be pretty proud of their operation, which has clearly devolved into cluster:
https://www.citigroup.com/citi/citif...t_of_state.htm
And at least one Senator appears to be royally pissed at them:
https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news...ans-passports-
https://www.citigroup.com/citi/citif...t_of_state.htm
And at least one Senator appears to be royally pissed at them:
https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news...ans-passports-
Last edited by zephyr17; Jul 28, 2021 at 10:11 pm
Jul 28, 2021, 10:14 pm
#1510
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: WAS
Programs: enjoyed being warm spit for a few years on CO/UA but now nothing :(
Posts: 2,507
Citi appears to be pretty proud of their operation, which has clearly devolved into cluster:
https://www.citigroup.com/citi/citif...t_of_state.htm
And at least one Senator appears to be royally pissed at them:
https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news...ans-passports-
https://www.citigroup.com/citi/citif...t_of_state.htm
And at least one Senator appears to be royally pissed at them:
https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news...ans-passports-
Jul 29, 2021, 11:07 am
#1511
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: USA
Programs: Alaska MVP Gold 100K/ One World Emerald
Posts: 257
Tip: If you are looking for if a passport agency is taking walk-ins (even if they state on their website they don't)- I found the Google Reviews on each passport agency very helpful. People wrote detailed experiences if they were accepting walk-ins- what time they got there etc. So you may want to check that out if you want to walk-in to an agency.
Aug 1, 2021, 1:40 pm
#1513
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 42
Question: Move to another state while passport in process?
Does anyone have experience with moving to another state while a U.S. passport application is in process? Will they forward the new passport? Is there a way to change the application, or better not to touch it?
History:
March 5, 2021 -- new baby born
March 17, 2021 -- applied for new passport at post office, standard processing
April 1, 2021 -- status shows "In Process"
June, 2021 -- cancelled international trip (no passport for baby, plus never-ending lockdowns...)
August 1, 2021 -- status still shows "In Process"
August 20, 2021 -- planning to move to another state
History:
March 5, 2021 -- new baby born
March 17, 2021 -- applied for new passport at post office, standard processing
April 1, 2021 -- status shows "In Process"
June, 2021 -- cancelled international trip (no passport for baby, plus never-ending lockdowns...)
August 1, 2021 -- status still shows "In Process"
August 20, 2021 -- planning to move to another state
Aug 2, 2021, 11:04 am
#1514
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Florida
Programs: Delta SkyMiles; Hilton HHonors; NEXUS; National Emerald Club Executive
Posts: 365
How long does it usually take to get the citizenship evidence back after receiving the passport and passport card? I've heard a week is typical, but it's been longer than that. (I'm not panicking just yet, but I'm anxious to get my naturalization certificate back.)
Aug 2, 2021, 2:09 pm
#1515
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 1
Passport
I live in Atlanta, Ga , but I applied for first passport at USPS in St.Petersburg, Fl on 5/11/2021. Routine service. Received application received email on 6/4/21. Received approved email on 8/2/21. Passport should be received by 8/8/21 per email.
I hope this helps as I used this forum to read many of the posts regarding processing times!
I hope this helps as I used this forum to read many of the posts regarding processing times!