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)
Apr 5, 2022, 9:22 am
#1906
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 2,531
DS11 minor with first time passport
Submitted with routine processing fee but website said "you requested expedited service", so not sure which process it went through.
3/13: Appointment in person at acceptance facility
3/19: In Process (locator code 69)
4/01 (Fri): "Shipped" via Priority Mail w/ tracking number
4/04 (Mon): Accepted by USPS in Arkansas
4/07: Expected delivery
10 days to process, 25 days door to door.
Submitted with routine processing fee but website said "you requested expedited service", so not sure which process it went through.
3/13: Appointment in person at acceptance facility
3/19: In Process (locator code 69)
4/01 (Fri): "Shipped" via Priority Mail w/ tracking number
4/04 (Mon): Accepted by USPS in Arkansas
4/07: Expected delivery
10 days to process, 25 days door to door.
Apr 9, 2022, 12:04 pm
#1907
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,131
Applied for Renewal using routine service
- Mailed: 3/18/2022 to Irving Texas
- Delivered: 3/21/2022
- In Process: Status showed application was active starting 3/28/2022
- Check Cleared: 3/29/2022
- Approved/Shipped: 4/6/2022
- Received: 4/9/2022
Apr 10, 2022, 8:42 am
#1910
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: SFO
Programs: COdbaUA Platinum 2MM
Posts: 5,532
Apr 10, 2022, 9:41 am
#1911
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,131
Apr 11, 2022, 1:28 pm
#1912
Join Date: Oct 2017
Programs: NEXUS
Posts: 54
Thanks for posting this helpful information. Quick turnaround!
What were the first two digits of your application locator number? These numbers indicate in which passport office your application was examined and approved (where your scanned application was sent after being received in the big PO Box in Irving).
From where was your new passport mailed to you?
What were the first two digits of your application locator number? These numbers indicate in which passport office your application was examined and approved (where your scanned application was sent after being received in the big PO Box in Irving).
From where was your new passport mailed to you?
Apr 11, 2022, 8:53 pm
#1913
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,131
Thanks for posting this helpful information. Quick turnaround!
What were the first two digits of your application locator number? These numbers indicate in which passport office your application was examined and approved (where your scanned application was sent after being received in the big PO Box in Irving).
From where was your new passport mailed to you?
What were the first two digits of your application locator number? These numbers indicate in which passport office your application was examined and approved (where your scanned application was sent after being received in the big PO Box in Irving).
From where was your new passport mailed to you?
Apr 11, 2022, 10:11 pm
#1914
Join Date: Oct 2017
Programs: NEXUS
Posts: 54
OK. That means your passport was printed in Tucson (one of the two big US passport printing plants -- the other is in Hot Springs, Arkansas). But some US passports are printed elsewhere. If you have a record of any of the online status queries you made, the query returns your locator number. Look for it in the status message. The first two digits tell you in which office your application was examined and approved. Since yours was a renewal application, I believe your old passport will be mailed back to you from that office.
Apr 12, 2022, 10:34 am
#1915
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,131
OK. That means your passport was printed in Tucson (one of the two big US passport printing plants -- the other is in Hot Springs, Arkansas). But some US passports are printed elsewhere. If you have a record of any of the online status queries you made, the query returns your locator number. Look for it in the status message. The first two digits tell you in which office your application was examined and approved. Since yours was a renewal application, I believe your old passport will be mailed back to you from that office.
On a side note, I wish passports worked like GE Pass IDs. Where you are assigned a permanent number and you can apply for renewal at any tim up to a year before expirations and your new book is good for 10 years after the old book's expiration date.
Apr 13, 2022, 7:05 am
#1916
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, United, British Airways, Alaska Air
Posts: 250
Renewing US passport
Hello everyone,
I have to renew my passport. Here's what the timeline is looking like for my renewal so far (note: my request is expedited):
4/8: Mailed off passport at a local USPS here in the NW suburbs of Chicago via USPS priority mail (~$9)
4/11: Passport app arrived in Philly
Today (4/13): My check was cashed and my app is trackable in the system, locator #69.
I'll update the thread as more milestones happen.
I'm also running a contest between German and US passport authorities as I had to renew my German passport last summer. It took my German passport around 29 days to be renewed. We'll see who wins (my prediction is that Germany will, but we will see).
Best,
Erica
I have to renew my passport. Here's what the timeline is looking like for my renewal so far (note: my request is expedited):
4/8: Mailed off passport at a local USPS here in the NW suburbs of Chicago via USPS priority mail (~$9)
4/11: Passport app arrived in Philly
Today (4/13): My check was cashed and my app is trackable in the system, locator #69.
I'll update the thread as more milestones happen.
I'm also running a contest between German and US passport authorities as I had to renew my German passport last summer. It took my German passport around 29 days to be renewed. We'll see who wins (my prediction is that Germany will, but we will see).
Best,
Erica
Apr 14, 2022, 11:56 am
#1917
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 25
Applied for Renewal using Routine service
• Mailed: 3/12/22 via USPS
• Delivered: 3/15/22
• Check cashed and processing as of 3/24/22
• Status changed to Approved as of 4/14/22 (delivery estimated by 4/16)
Will Update the rest as it comes
• Mailed: 3/12/22 via USPS
• Delivered: 3/15/22
• Check cashed and processing as of 3/24/22
• Status changed to Approved as of 4/14/22 (delivery estimated by 4/16)
Will Update the rest as it comes
Apr 14, 2022, 12:43 pm
#1918
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 2,531
DS82 adult with recently expired passport
Submitted for routine service + routine mailing
3/7: Mailed via Priority Mail
3/9: Delivered to Irving, Texas
3/17: In Process (locator code 69)
4/11: Approved, "expected 4/18" (no tracking number given)
4/15: arrived in mailbox
25 days in processing, 39 days door to door
(edited to reflect actual arrival date)
Submitted for routine service + routine mailing
3/7: Mailed via Priority Mail
3/9: Delivered to Irving, Texas
3/17: In Process (locator code 69)
4/11: Approved, "expected 4/18" (no tracking number given)
4/15: arrived in mailbox
25 days in processing, 39 days door to door
(edited to reflect actual arrival date)
Last edited by threeoh; Apr 15, 2022 at 4:00 pm
Apr 14, 2022, 1:03 pm
#1919
Join Date: Oct 2017
Programs: NEXUS
Posts: 54
Thanks for the update. Did you mail your application to Philadelphia or Irving? What are the first two digits of your locator code? Those two digits indicate where your application was processed and approved (see the key at the top of this page). When you receive your passport, we passport geeks would love to know whether it is a Next Gen (new style) passport or the current (since ~2007) style (aka E-passport), and from where it was mailed (and printed -- typically Tucson AZ or Hot Springs AR).
Apr 16, 2022, 1:47 pm
#1920
Join Date: Oct 2017
Programs: NEXUS
Posts: 54
DS82 adult with recently expired passport
Submitted for routine service + routine mailing
3/7: Mailed via Priority Mail
3/9: Delivered to Irving, Texas
3/17: In Process (locator code 69)
4/11: Approved, "expected 4/18" (no tracking number given)
4/15: arrived in mailbox
25 days in processing, 39 days door to door
(edited to reflect actual arrival date)
Submitted for routine service + routine mailing
3/7: Mailed via Priority Mail
3/9: Delivered to Irving, Texas
3/17: In Process (locator code 69)
4/11: Approved, "expected 4/18" (no tracking number given)
4/15: arrived in mailbox
25 days in processing, 39 days door to door
(edited to reflect actual arrival date)
NextGen passport?
Large book (50-52 pages) or regular (26-28 pages)?
Mailed to you from where?