Yeah they travel internationally a lot so going by the 6-month validity rule to keep them out of trouble. I did tell them it depends by country but they're just going by folks who had to run to the embassy otherwise they couldn't continue their travels so they didn't want me to get "stuck" anywhere.

Speaking of "stuck", does anyone know if I will have to avoid any stop-overs to countries that have the 6-month validity rule on my route to Australia?
Entering/leaving AUS isn't the problem, but what if I have a stopover or connecting flight in a country with 6-month validity?

Ah I wouldn't had thought to do that. Do you get it same day when you renew at the Embassy? Is the cost much more getting it done at the Embassy?

I didn't know about the Australia trip until recently or I might've been in the same boat as you and tried the online version too.

No, they are not "really" travelers, if they were, they would not give you such silly advice, and whether they knew Australia's policy or not, would know that Australia has has their ETA for at least 20 years and a visa before that.
From DoS:

Countries requiring six months of validity include: Mainland China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordan, Israel, Egypt and Turkey.

That being said, everyone's circumstances are different, if one has a passport full of stamps, and is visiting Singapore for a couple of days, and is from a Tier 1 country, they will let one pass.............Someone with an almost empty passport I do not know. The blanket statement above regarding some others that require visas are obviously wrong if one carries long term visas from those countries......but then again if you do, you are already "known" to them, so would not apply to you.

Turkey is a weird one, as they could care less at Passport control if your passport expires after you leave BUT the online visa system will not issue a visa if you have less than 6 months left (actually 150 days, but they always say 6 months), however the reality is that they hard Turkish limit is in reality 60 days beyond your intended stay in Turkey, meaning that if one got their visa with 6 months left on their passport, they could in fact wait 3 months to enter the country............It should be noted that the limit for all non-visa "Group A" countries have a 60 day limit, and some Schengen countries have no such limit and their citizens can even travel with passports that have expired within the last 5 years!

Passports issued at embassy/consulate are typically provided the same day - but sometimes provided the next day. Cost is the same - sometimes there are that location specific requirements for method of payment. Call or check website of the specific intended embassy/consulate for accurate details.

So if I had a connecting flight at any of these countries above, would they prevent me from continuing my flight to Australia or on the return would they stop me from going home to the US?

Thanks - hope I can find that info.. but does sound better than dealing with the current processing time at home and hope they don't lose my application/documents.

Submitted online on Jan 12
"Received" status on Jan 23
"In Process" status on Mar 31
"Shipped" status Apr 5

That makes it about 12 weeks since I submitted that it was shipped. I assume I'll receive it in the next week or so, making it 12-13 weeks since submission.

EDIT: Apparently, the passport arrived on Apr 6, but my wife forgot to tell me about it for a few days. So it arrived on Apr 6, but I didn't actually receive it until Apr 9 ;)

Today, 4/5, status is "in process":

The U.S. Department of State has received your application for your passport book on 03/29/2023. We're now reviewing your application and supporting documents. You requested expedited service when you applied. Expedited service can take 7-9 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 at a local acceptance facility.

Does the fact that it's "in process" mean it's been received at a "passport agency or center"?

Following up my post #2338. New passport for infant, expedited processing, international travel commencing 4/25.

Submitted in-person at USPS 3/3
"Received" by State Department 3/7
Check cashed / In Process 3/8
Approved 4/3

Waiting on print and shipment. The date we can expect to receive the new passport has rolled forward and seems to do so each day that it sits in "approved" status.

The issue with those same-day or next-day-issued passports at our embassies/consulates which do issue passports is that their validity is most typically limited to one year or less from date of issue and the passports have to be turned back in to get a free replacement so as to get a full duration passport. That means suffering the application process again, sooner at that. But if having two weeks to wait in the country where the embassy/consulate is located (or having another passport to use in the interim), the in-person applications at these embassies/consulates will typically result in getting issued a full duration passport within two weeks. It’s also possible for the embassy/consulate to allow the applicant to keep the current passport (used for the application) for use (to stay and/or travel) until picking up the new full duration passport after it gets back to the station.

DS-11 and DS-82 applications submitted at embassies/consulates get super fast treatment without an expedite fee.

Online Renewal
Regular Processing

Submitted 1/17
In Process 1/18
Exception 4/3 (could be slightly earlier as I didn't learn the F12 trick until recently)
Fulfillment 4/5
Shipped 4/6


I didn't include a travel date or contact my reps, although I do have travel coming up next month and was starting to worry

Section 107. What GU writes is the situation as it has been for way over a decade now, and as I (and others) have written these are generally done within 2 weeks, although as I have referenced in this thread I know of these being turned around in 4 days in recent times.

So jeepzy, you can ignore section 107's comments as they are at least a decade out of date and are of little or no help to you.

Regarding the rest of your question, I have no idea where you are flying from to get to Australia, nor what you mean by connection. If you are solely connecting, i.e. not going land side you would not have any problems doing so from the rational connecting countries that I listed above (Singapore, Malaysia, UAE or Turkey) Others are silly......you going to connect through Russia right now? You really going to connect through China (although you could), Myanmar an option you looking at?

Wait time at passport center
 

I am traveling with my family on April 13th and just realized our daughters passport is expired. We have a appointment at the passport center the morning of our departure at 10am, our plane leaves ay 6pm. Does anyone know if we will be able to receive her passport on the same day? Or are we screwed.

Timeline updated