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)
Apr 4, 2023 | 7:30 am
#2356
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 74
1. Australia has no such 3 month or 6 month limit.
2. The ETA is only valid for a 3 month stay anyway, so by definition you cannot overstay.
3. An ETA means ELECTRONIC TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION, you cannot travel to Australia without it...........OTOH, it means that if you have it you CAN.
So rather than rely on "friends" who obviously do not have the slightest clue what they are talking about, you can rely on what is widely posted on the internet, on Australian government sites, etc. and just enjoy your trip. Also FYI, if you are going to be in OZ for several weeks, make an appointment at the Embassy and Consulate while there and you will get your passport done while away as well!
2. The ETA is only valid for a 3 month stay anyway, so by definition you cannot overstay.
3. An ETA means ELECTRONIC TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION, you cannot travel to Australia without it...........OTOH, it means that if you have it you CAN.
So rather than rely on "friends" who obviously do not have the slightest clue what they are talking about, you can rely on what is widely posted on the internet, on Australian government sites, etc. and just enjoy your trip. Also FYI, if you are going to be in OZ for several weeks, make an appointment at the Embassy and Consulate while there and you will get your passport done while away as well!
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?
Apr 4, 2023 | 8:12 am
#2357
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 74
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?
Apr 4, 2023 | 8:29 am
#2358
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 74
Keep your old passport. I can't overemphasize that enough. Calling the current state of US passport issuance 'dysfunctional' is being too kind. Wait for the fall when processing times tend to get significantly shorter.
I'm heading to Australia at the beginning of June. I renewed my passport before I knew I was traveling - my old one expires in September 2023. I figured I was getting ahead of the curve by applying in December in case we decided to travel to a country that required 6 months of validity. I was wrong and instead my application got stuck in the gears of the bureaucracy and an online system that was not ready to handle the sheer number of applications it received.
I'll be at 14 weeks on Wednesday after being given a 6-9 week estimate when I applied. I got a glimmer of hope this afternoon, as my status changed from "In Process" to "Printed". Until I have my passport in hand, however, I am not going to have a sense of relief.
I'm heading to Australia at the beginning of June. I renewed my passport before I knew I was traveling - my old one expires in September 2023. I figured I was getting ahead of the curve by applying in December in case we decided to travel to a country that required 6 months of validity. I was wrong and instead my application got stuck in the gears of the bureaucracy and an online system that was not ready to handle the sheer number of applications it received.
I'll be at 14 weeks on Wednesday after being given a 6-9 week estimate when I applied. I got a glimmer of hope this afternoon, as my status changed from "In Process" to "Printed". Until I have my passport in hand, however, I am not going to have a sense of relief.
Apr 4, 2023 | 8:48 am
#2359
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 15,854
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!
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!
Apr 4, 2023 | 11:54 am
#2360
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: WAS
Programs: enjoyed being warm spit for a few years on CO/UA but now nothing :(
Posts: 2,817
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.
Apr 4, 2023 | 1:46 pm
#2361
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 74
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.
Apr 4, 2023 | 1:49 pm
#2362
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 74
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.
Apr 5, 2023 | 7:50 am
#2363
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: gggrrrovvveee (ORD)
Programs: UA Pt, Marriott Ti, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 6,095
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
"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
Last edited by gobluetwo; Apr 10, 2023 at 2:21 pm
Apr 5, 2023 | 9:06 am
#2364
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 4,691
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"?
Apr 5, 2023 | 9:54 am
#2365
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Chicago
Programs: Hyatt Glob; UA 1K; BonVoyage LTT (RIP SPG); HH Dia; JX Insighter
Posts: 1,660
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.
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.
Apr 5, 2023 | 4:52 pm
#2366
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,077
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.
DS-11 and DS-82 applications submitted at embassies/consulates get super fast treatment without an expedite fee.
Apr 5, 2023 | 5:32 pm
#2367
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 19
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
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
Last edited by firlloigjrilwl; Apr 6, 2023 at 11:30 pm
Apr 5, 2023 | 5:48 pm
#2368
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 15,854
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?
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?
Apr 6, 2023 | 11:44 am
#2369
Join Date: Apr 2023
Posts: 1
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.
Apr 6, 2023 | 8:28 pm
#2370
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 74
Data points for passport renewal by mail starting 2/8/2023, non-expedited.
Here's my friend's recent experience.
2/8 - Mailed renewal by Priority Mail $9.65 for delivery 2/11
2/14 - check cashed
3/1 - Processing started by passport office
3/30 - Received renewed passport at home, passport card will come in separate mail.
4/3 - Received passport card
4/5 - Received documents back
The first and last dates are accurate but don't have details in the middle but he commented - yeah right it sat on their desks til 3/1. I'll update the timeline if I get more info.
Here's my friend's recent experience.
2/8 - Mailed renewal by Priority Mail $9.65 for delivery 2/11
2/14 - check cashed
3/1 - Processing started by passport office
3/30 - Received renewed passport at home, passport card will come in separate mail.
4/3 - Received passport card
4/5 - Received documents back
The first and last dates are accurate but don't have details in the middle but he commented - yeah right it sat on their desks til 3/1. I'll update the timeline if I get more info.