keep us posted on progress. We have some time until next month for the passport to arrive but this thread is helpful for what to do and who to contact and provide some perspective on timing.

Call up the Passport Agency appointment number in the wee hours of the morning for same-day appointments? Sometimes that can work out faster/better than dealing with Congressional offices whose staff and interns have vacation schedules of their own that slow down things.

One way to get at the root of the problem is to reduce the seasonal demand for passports. The elimination of the US WHTI would help with that at this time when intra-hemisphere travel is a big part of it, but there is no big drive to fix that.

I waited 3 hours on the phone only to be told there were none available in the state of California :(

I've been calling my Rep & Senator every day for the last 3 days, just polite answers that they haven't heard back. I went in person to my Rep's office yesterday as well. Today I was told that someone at my Rep was calling the LA Passport Office every 10 minutes, and that voicemail was full.

My travel is in less than 48 hours.

Did you try the instructions in the wiki (post at top/first page) where you call right before 8AM EST then right when it turns 8AM you click the button to talk to a person? Maybe that will help. Everything was full when I tried it, but I got ahold of someone after a short wait, but online people seem to need to be transferred to a special agent which slows us down after that. But my total wait at 8AM was less than 45 minutes.

But they book either 5 days or 14 days ahead of time so this method might not be helpful if you need it in the next 2 days. The senator might be the only one who can help or if there is a last minute cancellation.

Renewal for minor Feb 11th at LAS appointment. Received Mar 3rd (paid for expedited)

Online Renewal Timeline:

Passport Renewal option: Online Submission, Large Passport Book (52 pages), expedited processing, expedited shipping

Submitted Online - 01/09/23
Email - Your Passport Application Status – Received - 01/11/23
Email - Your Passport Application Status – In Process - 03/02/23
Email - Your Passport Application Status – Shipped - 03/04/23

Using the tracking number from the online portal (Online Passport Renewal - MyTravelGov) I saw that the passport was sent on 03/03/23 and is to be delivered by today (03/04/23).

Pretty ridiculous that they said this would take 3-5 weeks for expedited and 6-9 weeks for routine applications. During the online passport renewal process they also asked for you to pick your potential trip date and if it was earlier than 6 weeks they wouldn't let you submit it online. I picked a date that was 6 weeks out for the expedited option. Their phone number to get the in person passport renewal is a joke too. The online renewal people have to go through two operators to reach someone who could help. Also the website is horrible and goes down frequently.

TLDR:
At this current time DO NOT DO THE ONLINE RENEWAL if you need your passport within the next 2-3 months.

I am so glad you finally have it. Looks like I am going to have to work the phones starting at 5 AM PT on Monday :-(

Did you get a passport appointment before your flight? If yes, how did you finally break through?

Nope. My passport did ship yesterday and arrived today, but after my flight. Evaluating options now.

So, in the end, you just let the online application process play out?

Online renewal was taken down on 2/7. Currently it is not possible.
You can apply for the refund of expediate passport fee. (https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...st/refund.html)
From the page:Our expedited service commitment is to process your passport application within 35 business days (Mondays-Fridays, excludes federal holidays) from the date we receive your application at a passport agency or center (or from the date you request an upgrade from routine to expedited service).

Please note that expedited service can take 5-7 weeks. Our processing times begin the day we receive your application at a passport agency or center, not the day you mail your application or apply for a passport at a local acceptance facility.
However, I think before 2/6, the process time of expediated service was 3-5 weeks.

I'm now at 10 weeks, going on 11 weeks this coming Wednesday after being quoted 6-9 when I applied back in December.

My NEXUS renewal from October at this point has had a faster turnaround time. I don't know who is running the show at State, but they either need to ask for more money or clean house on the passport side of things and get someone in there that knows what they are doing. The long turnaround time isn't as frustrating as the lack of communication and the oft-broken online portal. Even a mass email or a website update to anyone that went over the originally quoted time with an updated timeline would make me feel somewhat better.

Going on 11 weeks without an expedite fee? Ouch.

It’s been sort of a mush show to some extent or another for decades. If State asks for more money to avoid massive seasonal backlogs, it will come with much higher passport application fees. Given that I have no problem getting new/renewal passports back within 2 weeks of application without paying an expedite fee, I have no desire to see higher application fees. One way to reduce these periodical massive backlogs and not expedite and exacerbate the fee hikes is to see US passports being less needed for cross-border air travel.

Status Update Message: IT Error In Tracking Early Feb Submissions
 

PSA: This new error message popped up this morning for me.This message did not appear through last Friday when my application status continually showed “not available”.
This afternoon, my application status is finally showing as follows:
Frustrating that USPS tracking showed my renewal application received on 2/8/23 vs the 3/5 listed in status.Apparently, the 5-7 week “expedited” clock didn’t begin until almost 25 days after the USPS delivered.
I used the online form to fill out application and mailed in on 2/6/23 for Large passport book and card. Paid for Expedited service and delivery.
Locator number is 69: National Passport Center in Portsmouth, NH 03801

No status update email was received. Bottom of application status page this afternoon suddenly has my email address filled in but says I didn’t sign up for email. I just registered my email addy a second time for updates. What poor communications. Will report when status updates to approved and passport is received.
Jane

Well, at least this gives me hope. Same renewal options as you, but received on Jan 18th.

I guess I might see movement late this week if the wait and processing timelines are the same.