Each person's maybe different. I applied online for renewal on Dec 9, regular processing and regular shipping, shipped on Jan 31/Feb 1.

Good to know. I have a co-worker that is due to fly overseas to run a big meeting in the latter part of April.

Submitted his renewal online Jan 11 - expedited - and has been stuck as still processing as of today. Meanwhile his wife renewed via post office 3 weeks ago and already has hers back.

I am his backup but have other things to do, so I am trying to help him solve it. :rolleyes:

ok..I'll bite..what did you mean by your last sentence?

Passport got handed to me by friendly UPS delivery guy just a few minutes before noon. 3 hours before my flight! Reaching them twice by phone and engaging my Congresswoman and also making clear when my flight was leaving all eventually did help. But it was really down to the wire. I appreciate that everyone cared enough to get me my passport just in time. But at the same time, they are so far behind their service commitments, it's hard to applaud too hard. I hope all others who have been waiting beyond their stated waiting periods get their passports soon.

I only learned about the F12 trick (well, something similar since I'm not using Chrome) a couple of days back. It's in fulfillment status, but I think it's actually been there for weeks since I lost the ability to upgrade shipping quite a while back.

But I wonder if there could have been some trick where paying the expedite fee after your application will bump you ahead? Not that useful since the details will probably be different when or if they re-open online renewals.

Nothing shocking, and borderline off-topic. Just that it is sometimes hard to tell normal government indifference/incompetence from the way people in US law enforcement and related fields routinely treat people who they suspect vote for the wrong party or aren't white Christians.

Let's not stray into Omni-land
 

Please keep the thread focused on wait time. Thanks

Yes, and that’s long been within the range of normal. Beside the USPS side, In part, it’s part and parcel of the consequences of batching and relying upon batch processing on the State Department side that makes the publicly-viewable system status not necessarily all that reliable.

Thank you so much, Sullim4! Your F12 trick probably has saved time of many US citizens, even state workers and staff of house/congress!

Here is my own history:

2/2: applied renewal online with expedited service and express delivery
2/4: State sent me an email to confirm "in process" status with 3-5 weeks processing time. MyTravelGov account remained "in process" since then.
3/12: Found F12 trick from this thread but the website couldn't take my password.
3/13: Called tech support 855-865-7750 to unlock my account. (Long hold with two agents. First tech support to verify my error message. Another to actually send me a new password.)
3/13: Status: "Exception".
3/16: Status changed to "Fulfillment" in the afternoon. At this moment, I can't change contact info anymore. (Looks like if you can't change contact info, it is a good sign.)
3/18: State sent me an email saying the passport has been shipped. Go back to the website. It said "Shipped", with a tracking number. However, it is a Saturday. USPS only shows the label has been created. I trust USPS is able to deliver my passport early next week!

It has been 30 working days! Although it meets the current timeline (expedited 5-7 weeks), still not meeting the timeline it suggested on the first confirmation email.

So, here's my timeline ... (My travel was initially planned for March 6 and postponed twice.)

1/22 Submitted for online renewal (BIG mistake!) with expedited processing and expedited delivery
2/2 Receipt acknowledgment
2/6 In process

... and there it sat, and sat, and sat ... I spent many hours on hold trying to get an update or an appointment to no avail. ("No appointments available nationwide.") I was disconnected numerous times, and it seemed that 9 times out of 10 the online system for status checking was down.

3/12 (Sunday) Sent an email to my senator's office
3/13 Received email from senator's office, stating that a case worker and case number had been assigned and I would be contacted shortly
3/14 Caseworker called directly to let me know that they had arranged an appointment for me at the passport agency in DC for Thursday, 3/16 since they could not confirm when my passport might actually show up since it was still in process in Minneapolis.
3/16 Arrived at 8 AM for a 9 AM appointment. By 9:15 AM everything had been processed and I was told to return in 3 hours to pick up my passport. Had passport in hand by 2 pm.

I've been telling all my friends and family to avoid the online application system even if it opens up again. Even the agent who helped me at the DC office said it was obviously released prematurely. I met people who had flown in from all around the country since their online application never completed processing.

Prompts in the wiki seem to be for new passports only. Does anyone know if they change for renewals? (I know the prompts change on the phone, but are the prompts suggested because of how quickly they can get you on the phone with an agent?)

I have emergency travel tomorrow and my passport is expired (although it is not technically life/death). Cannot reach anyone on the weekend.

Passport received on March 17 as indicated in the tracking information (made it from Tucson to Chicago and then building delivery within a day) - sent USPS priority mail. So, all in all, this application was within the stated processing times for expedited of the 5-7 weeks for an online application. Although we had some plan B actions in our back pocket, did not need to call the help desk, or get congressional reps involved, or even use the developer pane trick. Interesting that experiences seem to be all over the road. Some items of note on the new passport.. First character is a letter - still nine digits and the information page is a hard laminate with a black and white picture with a color picture on a facing page- easier to entering in the machines and less likely to have issues. The binding doesnt look great but hopefully it will last ten years. Thanks for all the great information on this thread and we will be off to regularly scheduled travel next month!

Just to close this loop and add a data point -

Passport received on 3/16. two days BEFORE I got an email notifying me that it had shipped

Adult renewal by mail, routine service

Application mailed: Jan. 31(by Priority Mail)
Application received: Feb. 6
Locator number: 75(St. Albans, VT)

Status changes:
Feb. 6: "In Process"(with an estimated time frame of 8 -11 weeks)
Mar. 20: "Shipped"(by Priority Mail with tracking number)

Exactly six weeks - not bad at all for routine service! Did not receive email notification of status change even though I have signed up for it. A shout-out to the VT Passport Agency for the quick turnaround time.

Update: New passport received Mar. 22.