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)
Sep 24, 2022, 12:23 am
#2101
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: RBKC
Programs: AA EXP and Eurostar Carte Blanche
Posts: 3,850
A colleague's passport was damaged while working in Hawaii earlier this week. Called the appointment center when they opened and got a same day appointment in Honolulu. New passport next day, with return flight to Europe the day after that. Impressed by the availability of appointments and the speed of the replacement 
Sep 27, 2022, 4:38 pm
#2103
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 86
Some datapoints for ppl following
I submitted passport along with my friend on the exact same day. Both received at location 34.
---
Friday 9/2 - USPS Priority mail (with EXPEDITE written on the envelope)
Monday 9/5 - Labor Day Holiday
Tuesday 9/6 - received in PA
Thursday 9/8 - check cashed
Thursday 9/8 - Status: In Process
---
This is where we differ.
Monday 9/19 - Status: Approved
Tuesday 9/20 - updated ETA was given: 9/23/22
Wednesday 9/21 - Passport Received in hand
UPDATE:
09/27: Just received letter in mail saying need to submit application. This is odd because I printed it an auto generated form exactly as they requested. Its unclear if I need to get a new photo
I submitted passport along with my friend on the exact same day. Both received at location 34.
---
Friday 9/2 - USPS Priority mail (with EXPEDITE written on the envelope)
Monday 9/5 - Labor Day Holiday
Tuesday 9/6 - received in PA
Thursday 9/8 - check cashed
Thursday 9/8 - Status: In Process
---
This is where we differ.
Monday 9/19 - Status: Approved
Tuesday 9/20 - updated ETA was given: 9/23/22
Wednesday 9/21 - Passport Received in hand
UPDATE:
09/27: Just received letter in mail saying need to submit application. This is odd because I printed it an auto generated form exactly as they requested. Its unclear if I need to get a new photo
Last edited by theoracle111; Sep 27, 2022 at 7:53 pm
Oct 4, 2022, 2:41 pm
#2105
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 476
Expedited Renewal. Much faster than I expected.
9/19: Sent application to Philadelphia Passport Processing Center via USPS Express Mail with "Expedited" on the envelope.
9/21 Received by Passport Processing Center
9/23: "In process."
10/3: Renewal approved.
10/3 Shipped via Tucson Mail Distribution Center
10/4 Received via USPS Express Mail
9/19: Sent application to Philadelphia Passport Processing Center via USPS Express Mail with "Expedited" on the envelope.
9/21 Received by Passport Processing Center
9/23: "In process."
10/3: Renewal approved.
10/3 Shipped via Tucson Mail Distribution Center
10/4 Received via USPS Express Mail
Oct 6, 2022, 5:15 pm
#2106
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 102
Oct 8, 2022, 4:34 am
#2107
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Unfortunately, processing times for passport applications submitted in-person at US consulates/embassies abroad have become slower than they were in the first and second quarters of this year.
Where submitted applications last fall would take 6-10 days until the standard passports were back at missions, it’s now no longer as fast on average.
Where submitted applications last fall would take 6-10 days until the standard passports were back at missions, it’s now no longer as fast on average.
Oct 13, 2022, 11:57 am
#2108
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Programs: UA Silver, AA Gold, Marriott LTTE, HHonors Gold, IHG Plat, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 40
Applied via the online renewal pilot. Oddly, application still shows as In Process online.
9/23: Application submitted with expedited processing
9/26: Application in process
10/11: Shipped via Priority Mail from Tucson
10/13: Extra pages next-gen passport arrived
9/23: Application submitted with expedited processing
9/26: Application in process
10/11: Shipped via Priority Mail from Tucson
10/13: Extra pages next-gen passport arrived
Oct 13, 2022, 1:30 pm
#2109
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 696
Hi for online renewal, how did you manage to do the photo? I have passport photos taken, do I just scan it to computer or I have to scans and then crop it etc.?
Oct 14, 2022, 8:53 am
#2110
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: WAS
Programs: enjoyed being warm spit for a few years on CO/UA but now nothing :(
Posts: 2,507
Oct 16, 2022, 8:01 am
#2111
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Unfortunately, processing times for passport applications submitted in-person at US consulates/embassies abroad have become slower than they were in the first and second quarters of this year.
Where submitted applications last fall would take 6-10 days until the standard passports were back at missions, it’s now no longer as fast on average.
Where submitted applications last fall would take 6-10 days until the standard passports were back at missions, it’s now no longer as fast on average.
The online renewal system you used had very recently gone glitchy and down for a bit, but that’s not why you got the in process thing showing like it did. The status updating system is just not extremely dependable (and never has been as far back as it’s been around), and so I continue to tend to sort of ignore what it shows on the website except for if it’s a “positive” update in application status.
Oct 16, 2022, 12:30 pm
#2112
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: bay area, ca
Programs: UA plat, , aa plat, marriott LT titanium
Posts: 4,833
Yes, the online update system still showed "in process" on the day I received my passport
One mission where it used to be 6-10 calendar days early this year is now at c. 14-15 calendar days for turnarounds.
The online renewal system you used had very recently gone glitchy and down for a bit, but that’s not why you got the in process thing showing like it did. The status updating system is just not extremely dependable (and never has been as far back as it’s been around), and so I continue to tend to sort of ignore what it shows on the website except for if it’s a “positive” update in application status.
The online renewal system you used had very recently gone glitchy and down for a bit, but that’s not why you got the in process thing showing like it did. The status updating system is just not extremely dependable (and never has been as far back as it’s been around), and so I continue to tend to sort of ignore what it shows on the website except for if it’s a “positive” update in application status.
Oct 20, 2022, 9:44 am
#2114
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: WAS
Programs: enjoyed being warm spit for a few years on CO/UA but now nothing :(
Posts: 2,507
the card and book are produced and mailed from different locations but usually arrive within days of each other.
Oct 20, 2022, 1:52 pm
#2115
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: SW Michigan, ex SF Bay Area
Posts: 831
I understand that the card is easier to carry than the book, but is there something else the card can do that the book can't?