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)
Mar 21, 2023 | 3:23 pm
#2311
Join Date: May 2005
Location: SEA
Programs: AS; Hyatt Globalist; Hilton Gold; NEXUS
Posts: 1,175
How long have online applications been sitting in "Fulfillment"?
Mine has been there for 9 days now, which is starting to make me worry that my application is again "lost" because it seems like most data points indicate shipment within a couple days after getting this status. Paying for expedited seemed to "wake" my application up a week and a half ago as I was moved to "Fulfillment" one business day after doing that. There are some that had to contact Congress to only find out that State lost track of their application once they issued approval.
Tomorrow is my 12 week anniversary of applying for a passport, after being quoted 6-9 weeks.
Mine has been there for 9 days now, which is starting to make me worry that my application is again "lost" because it seems like most data points indicate shipment within a couple days after getting this status. Paying for expedited seemed to "wake" my application up a week and a half ago as I was moved to "Fulfillment" one business day after doing that. There are some that had to contact Congress to only find out that State lost track of their application once they issued approval.
Tomorrow is my 12 week anniversary of applying for a passport, after being quoted 6-9 weeks.
Mar 21, 2023 | 4:34 pm
#2312
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 561
How long have online applications been sitting in "Fulfillment"?
Mine has been there for 9 days now, which is starting to make me worry that my application is again "lost" because it seems like most data points indicate shipment within a couple days after getting this status. Paying for expedited seemed to "wake" my application up a week and a half ago as I was moved to "Fulfillment" one business day after doing that. There are some that had to contact Congress to only find out that State lost track of their application once they issued approval.
Tomorrow is my 12 week anniversary of applying for a passport, after being quoted 6-9 weeks.
Mine has been there for 9 days now, which is starting to make me worry that my application is again "lost" because it seems like most data points indicate shipment within a couple days after getting this status. Paying for expedited seemed to "wake" my application up a week and a half ago as I was moved to "Fulfillment" one business day after doing that. There are some that had to contact Congress to only find out that State lost track of their application once they issued approval.
Tomorrow is my 12 week anniversary of applying for a passport, after being quoted 6-9 weeks.
My status was changed from Exception to Fulfillment in the morning of Thursday 3/16. At 4am, Saturday 3/18, I got "passport shipped" email from the State, although it was just a label creation.
I got my passport today (3/21). It was shipped from Tucson to SF on 3/20. 3/16/2023 was the issue date.
Maybe it is time to contact your US representative as most likely your passport has been approved. Somebody forgot to hit "Print" button.
Mar 22, 2023 | 1:33 am
#2313
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 4,695
Have international travel in 13 weeks. Current wait time says 8-11 weeks "from the day we receive your application at a passport agency." Should I get expedited?
I plan to mail it in by "Priority Mail + Certified Mail with Return Receipt by email". If there is a better way, let me know.
Do you get your old passport back? Google says yes.
I plan to mail it in by "Priority Mail + Certified Mail with Return Receipt by email". If there is a better way, let me know.
Do you get your old passport back? Google says yes.
Mar 22, 2023 | 4:11 pm
#2314
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 19
It took them an entire month from my passport appointment at USPS to the "received" date. I was well within the timeframe back then, but with the extra month plus them pushing out the processing times, considering upgrading to expedited
Can't say if you'll experience the same thing, but it's possible they don't even "receive" it for a month
Can't say if you'll experience the same thing, but it's possible they don't even "receive" it for a month
Mar 22, 2023 | 5:28 pm
#2315
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,893
Have international travel in 13 weeks. Current wait time says 8-11 weeks "from the day we receive your application at a passport agency." Should I get expedited?
I plan to mail it in by "Priority Mail + Certified Mail with Return Receipt by email". If there is a better way, let me know.
Do you get your old passport back? Google says yes.
I plan to mail it in by "Priority Mail + Certified Mail with Return Receipt by email". If there is a better way, let me know.
Do you get your old passport back? Google says yes.
In the past, you get the old passport back (when the new one comes) with hole punch if I remember correctly.
Mar 22, 2023 | 8:04 pm
#2316
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 339
"Passport processing times will increase later this week for new applications. If you are traveling internationally this year, we recommend that you apply for your passport well in advance of your trip to avoid added travel stress. http://Travel.state.gov/passports"
If it were me, I'd expedite without a second thought.
Mar 23, 2023 | 9:11 pm
#2319
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: SFO/ORD
Posts: 212
Same Day Issuance of New Passport for In-Person Appointment
I've been calling since Monday for an in-person appointment. I am in DC/NOVA. I was finally able to get an appointment at the Boston office for next Tuesday morning when they open at 10:30AM.
I am hopeful to get a new passport the same day. For my trip back to DC, what time should my flight be? Or should I plan to stay through Wednesday?
I am hopeful to get a new passport the same day. For my trip back to DC, what time should my flight be? Or should I plan to stay through Wednesday?
Last edited by envoy245; Mar 24, 2023 at 2:44 pm
Mar 24, 2023 | 11:22 am
#2320
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Between AUS, EWR, and YTO In a little twisty maze of airline seats, all alike.. but I wanna go home with the armadillo
Programs: CO, NW, & UA forum moderator emeritus. Eurobonus Millionaire
Posts: 38,682
I've been calling since Monday for an in-person appointment. I was finally able to get an appointment at the Boston office for next Tuesday morning when they open. I'm flying from DCA. Should I find a flight that departs after 5PM Tuesday? Should I plan to stay through Wednesday?
S by 2:30pm at the absolute latest for a 5pm flight out of DCA and encountering no delays. Calculate as per your desired departure time. Oh - and that also presumes your passport will be ready on Tuesday in time to pick it up and get to the airport to fly out. Sometimes they are available same-day, sometimes not. Granted, empirical evidence suggests an earlier appointment is more likely to yield a same day passport. Still, I think Wednesday is a better choice.
Last edited by Xyzzy; Mar 24, 2023 at 11:44 am
Mar 24, 2023 | 11:35 am
#2321
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: rural Indiana - IND
Programs: airline agnostic, Hilton Gold, IHG Plat, Jelly of the Month, DL defector, formerly NWA Plat (RIP)
Posts: 964
State Department confirms "unprecedented demand"
Delays seem to be getting longer
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday the State Department is facing an unprecedented demand for passports, and has increased staffing and resources to deal with it.
Blinken said the current wait time for a regular passport is about ten to thirteen weeks, and for an expedited passport about seven to nine weeks.
Full article here: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/23/polit...ays/index.html
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday the State Department is facing an unprecedented demand for passports, and has increased staffing and resources to deal with it.
Blinken said the current wait time for a regular passport is about ten to thirteen weeks, and for an expedited passport about seven to nine weeks.
Full article here: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/23/polit...ays/index.html
Mar 24, 2023 | 12:01 pm
#2322
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,893
Just for reference, my online renewal was "Received" on 1/21. Right now, with F12 trick, it shows that it is still in Adjudication stage. The [email protected] email said 6 to 9 weeks for routine service when I submitted it. Tomorrow, it would be 9th week since I submitted the application. Good thing I don't need it anytime soon!
Mar 24, 2023 | 2:56 pm
#2323
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: SFO/ORD
Posts: 212
Originally Posted by Xyzzy;[url=tel:35113404
35113404[/url]]So you have to stay in Boston until you get your passport, then get to DCA to fly out? For a 5pm departure it means flying out of BS by 2:30pm at the absolute latest for a 5pm flight out of DCA and encountering no delays. Calculate as per your desired departure time. Oh - and that also presumes your passport will be ready on Tuesday in time to pick it up and get to the airport to fly out. Sometimes they are available same-day, sometimes not. Granted, empirical evidence suggests an earlier appointment is more likely to yield a same day passport. Still, I think Wednesday is a better choice.
S by 2:30pm at the absolute latest for a 5pm flight out of DCA and encountering no delays. Calculate as per your desired departure time. Oh - and that also presumes your passport will be ready on Tuesday in time to pick it up and get to the airport to fly out. Sometimes they are available same-day, sometimes not. Granted, empirical evidence suggests an earlier appointment is more likely to yield a same day passport. Still, I think Wednesday is a better choice.
Mar 24, 2023 | 5:00 pm
#2324
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Between AUS, EWR, and YTO In a little twisty maze of airline seats, all alike.. but I wanna go home with the armadillo
Programs: CO, NW, & UA forum moderator emeritus. Eurobonus Millionaire
Posts: 38,682
room for delay in any of this.If it were me I'd plan to leave DCA as late as possible on Tuesday or (preferably) sometime on Wednesday that allows me to stay over at BOS if necessary.
Mar 24, 2023 | 7:40 pm
#2325
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2008
Location: San Francisco
Programs: GM on VX, UA, AA, HA, AS, SY; Budget Fastbreak; GM with hotels; Waymo; Honda crv; iOS
Posts: 36,623
I also saw the npr or nyt article about mega passport demand.
i recently received my old passport. In previous decades the former (expired) passport had a big hole punch in the front. Now my passport (issued 2009) has zero hole punch. I’m surprised. Is that the new normal?
i recently received my old passport. In previous decades the former (expired) passport had a big hole punch in the front. Now my passport (issued 2009) has zero hole punch. I’m surprised. Is that the new normal?