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 doesnt 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 doesnt match the list above, please add or correct.
Current US passport wait? (Merged Threads)
Aug 20, 2021 | 9:25 am
#1561
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Colorado (anywhere between DEN DMM BAH)
Programs: United MileagePlus, SkyMiles, AAdvantage, NEXUS
Posts: 3,595
If you did not pay for expedited shipping (priority or express mail) from USPS to State which would come with a separate tracking number then no, there is no easy way to track its progress in the mail system. Yes, waiting for the check to be cashed is a very clear sign it has been received at State. However, The State's passport status webpage is very useful as you can sign up for email notices for each stage without having to repeatedly check the webpage.
It may take a few weeks for your application to be received and entered into the processing system by State. Once it is entered, it will receive expedited processing. Depending upon which processing center it was sent to it may then take a week or it might take a few weeks to be approved depending upon their work load and if/or any issues crop up. Since you indicated no urgent travel plans, you should wait a few weeks before contacting your congress-cri- um, congressional representative for assistance if it has not been entered into the system or if approval is taking a long time.
If, after several weeks your application is still not entered into the system then the post office that processed your application can research and give you some information about when they sent for sharing with your congressional office.
It may take a few weeks for your application to be received and entered into the processing system by State. Once it is entered, it will receive expedited processing. Depending upon which processing center it was sent to it may then take a week or it might take a few weeks to be approved depending upon their work load and if/or any issues crop up. Since you indicated no urgent travel plans, you should wait a few weeks before contacting your congress-cri- um, congressional representative for assistance if it has not been entered into the system or if approval is taking a long time.
If, after several weeks your application is still not entered into the system then the post office that processed your application can research and give you some information about when they sent for sharing with your congressional office.
Thanks for clarifying. Now I feel stupid for not knowing that I shouldve asked for expedited shipping. For some reason I thought it would be automatically shipped quickly and I wasnt offered anything at the post office. I thought paying the $60 expedited fee and the $17.56 to mail it back quickly was enough to expedite everything.
And I feel extra stupid for knowing any of this beforehand despite reading about it supposedly thoroughly in FT and other places.
Last edited by Nayef; Aug 20, 2021 at 9:38 am
Aug 20, 2021 | 9:50 am
#1562
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: HTX
Programs: UA/Star Alliance Gold, AS MVP Gold/OneWorld Sapphire, Bonvoy Titanium, HH Gold
Posts: 10
Thanks for clarifying. Now I feel stupid for not knowing that I should’ve asked for expedited shipping. For some reason I thought it would be automatically shipped quickly and I wasn’t offered anything at the post office. I thought paying the $60 expedited fee and the $17.56 to mail it back quickly was enough to expedite everything.
And I feel extra stupid for knowing any of this beforehand despite reading about it supposedly thoroughly in FT and other places.
And I feel extra stupid for knowing any of this beforehand despite reading about it supposedly thoroughly in FT and other places.
1. Naturalized on Aug 7 (it was a saturday but they are doing it on weekends to clear the huge backlog)
2. Submitted to USPS (Aug 9). Don't have the receipt but it is similar to what was posted earlier. I found a same day appointment in a small town on the south edge of Houston. There is no tracking information on the receipt.:
3. Check Cashed (Aug 13)
4. Passport status updated to shipped with return tracking number (Please note that there was no tracking information available to me before this step):
Last edited by htxmd64; Aug 21, 2021 at 4:21 am Reason: removed pictures for privacy
Aug 20, 2021 | 9:56 am
#1563
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Colorado (anywhere between DEN DMM BAH)
Programs: United MileagePlus, SkyMiles, AAdvantage, NEXUS
Posts: 3,595
So here are the datapoints I have some pictures for (some stuff is marked out for obvious reasons):
1. Naturalized (it was a saturday but they are doing it on weekends to clear the huge backlog):
2. Submitted to USPS (Aug 9). Don't have the receipt but it is similar to what was posted earlier. I found a same day appointment in a small town on the south edge of Houston. There is no tracking information on the receipt.:
3. Check Cashed (Aug 13):
4. Passport status updated to shipped with return tracking number (Please note that there was no tracking information available to me before this step):
1. Naturalized (it was a saturday but they are doing it on weekends to clear the huge backlog):
2. Submitted to USPS (Aug 9). Don't have the receipt but it is similar to what was posted earlier. I found a same day appointment in a small town on the south edge of Houston. There is no tracking information on the receipt.:
3. Check Cashed (Aug 13):
4. Passport status updated to shipped with return tracking number (Please note that there was no tracking information available to me before this step):
So you sent your application packet without expediting that shipment, and the check got cashed about 4 days after you sent it?
Aug 20, 2021 | 11:06 pm
#1564
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Colorado (anywhere between DEN DMM BAH)
Programs: United MileagePlus, SkyMiles, AAdvantage, NEXUS
Posts: 3,595
Well, never mind all my crying and confusion. My passport tracker application says in process now (Aug 20)! The locator number starts with 34.
Aug 21, 2021 | 4:22 am
#1565
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: HTX
Programs: UA/Star Alliance Gold, AS MVP Gold/OneWorld Sapphire, Bonvoy Titanium, HH Gold
Posts: 10
Aug 23, 2021 | 12:20 pm
#1566
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Colorado (anywhere between DEN DMM BAH)
Programs: United MileagePlus, SkyMiles, AAdvantage, NEXUS
Posts: 3,595
Aug. 17: Applied for US passport, expedited processing, 1-2 express delivery, barcoded application from online wizard.
Aug. 20: Online status changed to in process with 34 locator number.
Aug. 23: Check cashed.
Aug. 20: Online status changed to in process with 34 locator number.
Aug. 23: Check cashed.
Aug 23, 2021 | 1:13 pm
#1567
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: WAS
Programs: enjoyed being warm spit for a few years on CO/UA but now nothing :(
Posts: 2,818
Thanks for clarifying. Now I feel stupid for not knowing that I shouldve asked for expedited shipping. For some reason I thought it would be automatically shipped quickly and I wasnt offered anything at the post office. I thought paying the $60 expedited fee and the $17.56 to mail it back quickly was enough to expedite everything.
And I feel extra stupid for knowing any of this beforehand despite reading about it supposedly thoroughly in FT and other places.
And I feel extra stupid for knowing any of this beforehand despite reading about it supposedly thoroughly in FT and other places.
Aug 23, 2021 | 1:40 pm
#1568
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Colorado (anywhere between DEN DMM BAH)
Programs: United MileagePlus, SkyMiles, AAdvantage, NEXUS
Posts: 3,595
You should not feel stupid. The USPS is doing its job well- it still only takes only a couple of days for most mail to move clear across the country to final destination. But for some reason, Citibank was/is taking up to six weeks to receive, scan and enter applications into the system so actual State employees can review and make a determination about the application. Submitting the application with expedited shipping (priority or express mail) results not so much in the application reaching the processing center more quickly but in it being entered into the system (and check cashed) ahead of all of the "regularly submitted" or non-expedited shipping applications.
Aug 24, 2021 | 4:45 pm
#1569
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: UA Silver, Bonvoy Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 23,177
Baby Swede's passport expires in March 2022. No immediate int'l travel plans (sky-high prices to the Caribbean over Thanksgiving and Christmas squashed those ideas), but I still paid for expedited service just in case.
7/23 - Miraculous found an evening weekday appointment for 8/19 at the USPS Altura Facility in Aurora, CO
8/19 5:30pm - Took Baby Swede to get her passport renewed; Mrs. Swede had to attend Miss Swede's back-to-school night, so we got the DS-3053 form filled out
8/19 6:00pm - Arrived and knocked on the door; USPS employee confirmed name and let us in
8/19 6:05pm - Ask to approach the desk; USPS employee looks over everything and rejects the application. DS-3053 was filled out with blue ink, not black. Ugh.
8/19 6:10pm - USPS employee was super helpful, and said everything else was acceptable.
8/19 6:10pm - He also said that walk-ins are accepted first-come-first-serve between 9-11am every Tuesday through Saturday, but he did warn that people line up super early. It's not the Aurora Passport Agency, but hey.
8/19 7:00pm - Came home and hopped on my laptop to find another passport appointment that wasn't in the middle of the weekday 100 miles away
8/19 7:02pm - Book appointment for the next morning at 7:45am at the same USPS facility!
8/20 6:45am - Baby Swede, Mrs. Swede, and I drive back to Aurora
8/20 7:25am - Arrive and knock on the door; we're let inside
8/20 7:32am - The 7:30am appointment doesn't show up, so we're processed
8/20 7:45am - Back out the door
Props to the employees at the USPS Altura Facility. They run a super efficient operation.
tl;dr - if you don't want to drive to rural Colorado, you might want to give the walk-in line at the USPS Altura Facility a try
7/23 - Miraculous found an evening weekday appointment for 8/19 at the USPS Altura Facility in Aurora, CO
8/19 5:30pm - Took Baby Swede to get her passport renewed; Mrs. Swede had to attend Miss Swede's back-to-school night, so we got the DS-3053 form filled out
8/19 6:00pm - Arrived and knocked on the door; USPS employee confirmed name and let us in
8/19 6:05pm - Ask to approach the desk; USPS employee looks over everything and rejects the application. DS-3053 was filled out with blue ink, not black. Ugh.
8/19 6:10pm - USPS employee was super helpful, and said everything else was acceptable.
8/19 6:10pm - He also said that walk-ins are accepted first-come-first-serve between 9-11am every Tuesday through Saturday, but he did warn that people line up super early. It's not the Aurora Passport Agency, but hey.
8/19 7:00pm - Came home and hopped on my laptop to find another passport appointment that wasn't in the middle of the weekday 100 miles away
8/19 7:02pm - Book appointment for the next morning at 7:45am at the same USPS facility!
8/20 6:45am - Baby Swede, Mrs. Swede, and I drive back to Aurora
8/20 7:25am - Arrive and knock on the door; we're let inside
8/20 7:32am - The 7:30am appointment doesn't show up, so we're processed
8/20 7:45am - Back out the door
Props to the employees at the USPS Altura Facility. They run a super efficient operation.
tl;dr - if you don't want to drive to rural Colorado, you might want to give the walk-in line at the USPS Altura Facility a try
Aug 24, 2021 | 4:57 pm
#1570
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Colorado (anywhere between DEN DMM BAH)
Programs: United MileagePlus, SkyMiles, AAdvantage, NEXUS
Posts: 3,595
Baby Swede's passport expires in March 2022. No immediate int'l travel plans (sky-high prices to the Caribbean over Thanksgiving and Christmas squashed those ideas), but I still paid for expedited service just in case.
7/23 - Miraculous found an evening weekday appointment for 8/19 at the USPS Altura Facility in Aurora, CO
8/19 5:30pm - Took Baby Swede to get her passport renewed; Mrs. Swede had to attend Miss Swede's back-to-school night, so we got the DS-3053 form filled out
8/19 6:00pm - Arrived and knocked on the door; USPS employee confirmed name and let us in
8/19 6:05pm - Ask to approach the desk; USPS employee looks over everything and rejects the application. DS-3053 was filled out with blue ink, not black. Ugh.
8/19 6:10pm - USPS employee was super helpful, and said everything else was acceptable.
8/19 6:10pm - He also said that walk-ins are accepted first-come-first-serve between 9-11am every Tuesday through Saturday, but he did warn that people line up super early. It's not the Aurora Passport Agency, but hey.
8/19 7:00pm - Came home and hopped on my laptop to find another passport appointment that wasn't in the middle of the weekday 100 miles away
8/19 7:02pm - Book appointment for the next morning at 7:45am at the same USPS facility!
8/20 6:45am - Baby Swede, Mrs. Swede, and I drive back to Aurora
8/20 7:25am - Arrive and knock on the door; we're let inside
8/20 7:32am - The 7:30am appointment doesn't show up, so we're processed
8/20 7:45am - Back out the door
Props to the employees at the USPS Altura Facility. They run a super efficient operation.
tl;dr - if you don't want to drive to rural Colorado, you might want to give the walk-in line at the USPS Altura Facility a try
7/23 - Miraculous found an evening weekday appointment for 8/19 at the USPS Altura Facility in Aurora, CO
8/19 5:30pm - Took Baby Swede to get her passport renewed; Mrs. Swede had to attend Miss Swede's back-to-school night, so we got the DS-3053 form filled out
8/19 6:00pm - Arrived and knocked on the door; USPS employee confirmed name and let us in
8/19 6:05pm - Ask to approach the desk; USPS employee looks over everything and rejects the application. DS-3053 was filled out with blue ink, not black. Ugh.
8/19 6:10pm - USPS employee was super helpful, and said everything else was acceptable.
8/19 6:10pm - He also said that walk-ins are accepted first-come-first-serve between 9-11am every Tuesday through Saturday, but he did warn that people line up super early. It's not the Aurora Passport Agency, but hey.
8/19 7:00pm - Came home and hopped on my laptop to find another passport appointment that wasn't in the middle of the weekday 100 miles away
8/19 7:02pm - Book appointment for the next morning at 7:45am at the same USPS facility!
8/20 6:45am - Baby Swede, Mrs. Swede, and I drive back to Aurora
8/20 7:25am - Arrive and knock on the door; we're let inside
8/20 7:32am - The 7:30am appointment doesn't show up, so we're processed
8/20 7:45am - Back out the door
Props to the employees at the USPS Altura Facility. They run a super efficient operation.
tl;dr - if you don't want to drive to rural Colorado, you might want to give the walk-in line at the USPS Altura Facility a try
Aug 24, 2021 | 6:21 pm
#1571
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Taipei
Programs: Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,379
I read through all the posts from the past 30 days so I think I have a feel for what's going on.
Our situation...wife and 5 y/o son had to get "renewals" for expiring passports, but we are not planning to travel out of the country until Jan 2022 at the earliest. 18 weeks door-to-door is kinda pushing it (would be last week of December), not to mention that the lady at USPS who authorized our son's passport estimated "up to 6 months" and also warned us that our son's photos were technically not acceptable but that the passport center seems to approve most kids' passports even when they shouldn't. It also makes me nervous cause I'm not sure if I should book flights for early January before knowing we will have the passport.
Well thanks to this thread I'm feeling far less anxiety now. It seems like it would be safe to book travel for January, and if necessary, contact passport office to switch to expedite and/or contact congressperson to help as the date approaches. Probably don't need to worry about that til November. Anything I'm missing?
Our situation...wife and 5 y/o son had to get "renewals" for expiring passports, but we are not planning to travel out of the country until Jan 2022 at the earliest. 18 weeks door-to-door is kinda pushing it (would be last week of December), not to mention that the lady at USPS who authorized our son's passport estimated "up to 6 months" and also warned us that our son's photos were technically not acceptable but that the passport center seems to approve most kids' passports even when they shouldn't. It also makes me nervous cause I'm not sure if I should book flights for early January before knowing we will have the passport.
Well thanks to this thread I'm feeling far less anxiety now. It seems like it would be safe to book travel for January, and if necessary, contact passport office to switch to expedite and/or contact congressperson to help as the date approaches. Probably don't need to worry about that til November. Anything I'm missing?
Aug 25, 2021 | 10:25 am
#1572
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: WAS
Programs: enjoyed being warm spit for a few years on CO/UA but now nothing :(
Posts: 2,818
Aug 25, 2021 | 12:55 pm
#1573
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Taipei
Programs: Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,379
To clarify: Would anyone reading disagree that it is sensible for me to book travel for the family in January 2022 having just submitted regular applications/renewals on Aug. 20? With the fact that we can later expedite/contact congressperson for help if it comes to that? TIA!
Aug 27, 2021 | 2:30 pm
#1574
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: WAS
Programs: enjoyed being warm spit for a few years on CO/UA but now nothing :(
Posts: 2,818
LOL. Mine is good for three more years.
To clarify: Would anyone reading disagree that it is sensible for me to book travel for the family in January 2022 having just submitted regular applications/renewals on Aug. 20? With the fact that we can later expedite/contact congressperson for help if it comes to that? TIA!
To clarify: Would anyone reading disagree that it is sensible for me to book travel for the family in January 2022 having just submitted regular applications/renewals on Aug. 20? With the fact that we can later expedite/contact congressperson for help if it comes to that? TIA!
Aug 30, 2021 | 6:50 pm
#1575
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Los Feliz-Los Angeles (BUR/LAX) Arun Baheti
Programs: UA MM/Gold; HH something depending; Marriott Gold; other opportunistic statuses
Posts: 1,944
One more data point. Two passports mailed in same package (but in separate internal envelopes). A month (30th to 30th) from them receiving to me receiving, 3 extra days if you count from when I dropped at USPS.
- Expedited application, passport+card, no overnight return, $200
- July 27 mailed priority mail
- July 30th late night/31st delivered to national passport center
- August 3 received and "in process", "reviewing documents"
- August 30 "approved", "we're now printing", should receive around September 4
- (checked on Friday 27th, still said reviewing documents, but didn't check over the weekend)
- August 30 priority mail dropped two passports in my mail slot (website still says 9/4)
- September 2 passport cards arrived
- September 17 old passports and passport cards arrived bundled
- Signed up for email notices, never received one
- [edited to update the last two item dates]
Last edited by abaheti; Sep 17, 2021 at 6:54 pm Reason: completed timeline