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 28, 2023 | 2:12 pm
#2416
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Is it permitted to submit a routine passport renewal application to an embassy if not living in the foreign country? When I lived in Denmark (for 30 years), I just mailed my renewal application to the embassy in Copenhagen and got the new passport back in the post in about 3-5 days. It was brilliant and I didn't even need to make a trip to the embassy. The most difficult part of the whole process was getting a correctly sized photo, since the US passport photos are different sized than Danish passports.
But if I no longer live there, could I have submitted a renewal application using my in-law's Danish address? Obviously, I would have had to do this when my current passport was still more than six months from expiration in order to get into Denmark. I assumed that the passport services via the embassy were for citizens living abroad and/or emergency situations, not to process a routine renewal.
But if I no longer live there, could I have submitted a renewal application using my in-law's Danish address? Obviously, I would have had to do this when my current passport was still more than six months from expiration in order to get into Denmark. I assumed that the passport services via the embassy were for citizens living abroad and/or emergency situations, not to process a routine renewal.
Apr 28, 2023 | 2:34 pm
#2417
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: East Coast US
Programs: Hyatt: Diamond. Marriott: Platinum. AA: EXP 1MM. Delta: Silver. Etihad: Silver. Emirates Silver
Posts: 412
Question for all: Has anyone submitted a regular Passport renewal which is currently taking 10-13 weeks and called the 877 number to request if it can be upgraded to Expedite? I was told this could be done and my spouse called and spoke to an Agent who said to email them with the reference number and credit card details and it will be processed. This was 2 weeks ago and still no charge to my card or any update online. Just wondering if anyone has tried this and if it was successful.
Apr 28, 2023 | 6:07 pm
#2418
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1MM, Marriott LTP, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,029
Question for all: Has anyone submitted a regular Passport renewal which is currently taking 10-13 weeks and called the 877 number to request if it can be upgraded to Expedite? I was told this could be done and my spouse called and spoke to an Agent who said to email them with the reference number and credit card details and it will be processed. This was 2 weeks ago and still no charge to my card or any update online. Just wondering if anyone has tried this and if it was successful.
Apr 28, 2023 | 9:11 pm
#2420
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum
Posts: 4,738
Is it permitted to submit a routine passport renewal application to an embassy if not living in the foreign country? When I lived in Denmark (for 30 years), I just mailed my renewal application to the embassy in Copenhagen and got the new passport back in the post in about 3-5 days. It was brilliant and I didn't even need to make a trip to the embassy. The most difficult part of the whole process was getting a correctly sized photo, since the US passport photos are different sized than Danish passports.
But if I no longer live there, could I have submitted a renewal application using my in-law's Danish address? Obviously, I would have had to do this when my current passport was still more than six months from expiration in order to get into Denmark. I assumed that the passport services via the embassy were for citizens living abroad and/or emergency situations, not to process a routine renewal.
But if I no longer live there, could I have submitted a renewal application using my in-law's Danish address? Obviously, I would have had to do this when my current passport was still more than six months from expiration in order to get into Denmark. I assumed that the passport services via the embassy were for citizens living abroad and/or emergency situations, not to process a routine renewal.
Apr 28, 2023 | 9:32 pm
#2421
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,964
Question for all: Has anyone submitted a regular Passport renewal which is currently taking 10-13 weeks and called the 877 number to request if it can be upgraded to Expedite? I was told this could be done and my spouse called and spoke to an Agent who said to email them with the reference number and credit card details and it will be processed. This was 2 weeks ago and still no charge to my card or any update online. Just wondering if anyone has tried this and if it was successful.
Apr 28, 2023 | 9:33 pm
#2422
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,964
To answer your question: yes, it is allowed. There is no requirement to be a legal resident local to the US Embassy in Denmark in order to make a regular US passport application appointment and use it to get a passport. Even a US-residing or Sweden-residing American visiting Denmark can make an appointment online and use an expiring US passport to get a new full duration regular US passport issued for in-person pick-up in Denmark.
It's good to know for my husband when his U.S. passport is due for renewal in two years. His Danish passport is due next year and we're going to try to have it renewed this year.My guess is that they would only be willing to return it by mail to a local address, not return it to a U.S. address. But this could still be an option if one has family at the foreign destination as we do, and can have it delivered to them. OTOH, I do hope that the issues with long wait times this year is an anomaly and this isn't the norm for passport issuance in the U.S.
Apr 29, 2023 | 4:27 am
#2423
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
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Posts: 102,077
I shall remember this in 9 1/2 years when I next need to renew. It's good to know for my husband when his U.S. passport is due for renewal in two years. His Danish passport is due next year and we're going to try to have it renewed this year.
My guess is that they would only be willing to return it by mail to a local address, not return it to a U.S. address. But this could still be an option if one has family at the foreign destination as we do, and can have it delivered to them. OTOH, I do hope that the issues with long wait times this year is an anomaly and this isn't the norm for passport issuance in the U.S.
It's good to know for my husband when his U.S. passport is due for renewal in two years. His Danish passport is due next year and we're going to try to have it renewed this year.My guess is that they would only be willing to return it by mail to a local address, not return it to a U.S. address. But this could still be an option if one has family at the foreign destination as we do, and can have it delivered to them. OTOH, I do hope that the issues with long wait times this year is an anomaly and this isn't the norm for passport issuance in the U.S.
The regulation is that the embassy/consulates can only hold the newly-issued passport/passport card for 90 days, or the passport/passport card gets returned to the US. And for those who tend to apply for a passport and passport card at the same time, the embassy/consulate will typically get the passports back at a different/earlier time than the passport card. Just somethings to keep in mind.
Apr 29, 2023 | 6:23 am
#2424
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 15,879
1. AFAIK, you must apply in person at a mission abroad to get a passport issued, it cannot be done by mail.
2. Some missions do not want people picking up their passports or cards when they come in and have courier arrangements. They will generally only allow to be sent in that country or consular area.
3. Personal experiences/knowledge of last few weeks. I knew someone traveling from LA to Europe, who went the Emergency route, got an emergency appointment next day in LA, and had their passport 4 hours later.
3. GU's assessment of 8 day average in EU is spot on and has as much to do when "pouches" go out as anything else (i.e. if the US Embassy in Brussels gets its pouch sent on Tuesdays and your application is in the system on Monday, you might very well have it back in Brussels on Thursday or Friday, if it goes in on Tuesday and misses the cut off time, it may not get back to the Embassy until the next Tuesday, and sent to you on Wednesday or Thursday.)
2. Some missions do not want people picking up their passports or cards when they come in and have courier arrangements. They will generally only allow to be sent in that country or consular area.
3. Personal experiences/knowledge of last few weeks. I knew someone traveling from LA to Europe, who went the Emergency route, got an emergency appointment next day in LA, and had their passport 4 hours later.
3. GU's assessment of 8 day average in EU is spot on and has as much to do when "pouches" go out as anything else (i.e. if the US Embassy in Brussels gets its pouch sent on Tuesdays and your application is in the system on Monday, you might very well have it back in Brussels on Thursday or Friday, if it goes in on Tuesday and misses the cut off time, it may not get back to the Embassy until the next Tuesday, and sent to you on Wednesday or Thursday.)
Apr 29, 2023 | 8:43 am
#2425
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,077
The US embassies/consulates refer to adult passport application renewals by mail as the renewal-by-mail program. It is open and operational in some but not all places. It is open in the two embassies closest to me next week: Denmark and Sweden.
Here is what the US embassy in Stockholm says:
https://se.usembassy.gov/renew-a-passport/
The language in the above says this:
“IMPORTANT: Include a return address on BOTH the mailing and self-addressed envelope! All envelopes without a return address will be rejected. Be advised that the addressee must present a valid Swedish ID to retrieve registered mail from the designated local delivery location.”
But that language is far from being entirely accurate in practice in my experience. Non-Swedish passports are in practice also accepted as ID by those designated local delivery locations for pick up.
Here is what the US embassy in Stockholm says:
https://se.usembassy.gov/renew-a-passport/
The language in the above says this:
“IMPORTANT: Include a return address on BOTH the mailing and self-addressed envelope! All envelopes without a return address will be rejected. Be advised that the addressee must present a valid Swedish ID to retrieve registered mail from the designated local delivery location.”
But that language is far from being entirely accurate in practice in my experience. Non-Swedish passports are in practice also accepted as ID by those designated local delivery locations for pick up.
Apr 29, 2023 | 9:12 am
#2426
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,964
1. AFAIK, you must apply in person at a mission abroad to get a passport issued, it cannot be done by mail.
2. Some missions do not want people picking up their passports or cards when they come in and have courier arrangements. They will generally only allow to be sent in that country or consular area.
3. Personal experiences/knowledge of last few weeks. I knew someone traveling from LA to Europe, who went the Emergency route, got an emergency appointment next day in LA, and had their passport 4 hours later.
4. GU's assessment of 8 day average in EU is spot on and has as much to do when "pouches" go out as anything else (i.e. if the US Embassy in Brussels gets its pouch sent on Tuesdays and your application is in the system on Monday, you might very well have it back in Brussels on Thursday or Friday, if it goes in on Tuesday and misses the cut off time, it may not get back to the Embassy until the next Tuesday, and sent to you on Wednesday or Thursday.)
2. Some missions do not want people picking up their passports or cards when they come in and have courier arrangements. They will generally only allow to be sent in that country or consular area.
3. Personal experiences/knowledge of last few weeks. I knew someone traveling from LA to Europe, who went the Emergency route, got an emergency appointment next day in LA, and had their passport 4 hours later.
4. GU's assessment of 8 day average in EU is spot on and has as much to do when "pouches" go out as anything else (i.e. if the US Embassy in Brussels gets its pouch sent on Tuesdays and your application is in the system on Monday, you might very well have it back in Brussels on Thursday or Friday, if it goes in on Tuesday and misses the cut off time, it may not get back to the Embassy until the next Tuesday, and sent to you on Wednesday or Thursday.)
Re: #4, absolutely correct on the timing of pouches. My last renewal in 2013 was in my hands less than a week after I dropped the application in the post - no in-person visit required.
Re: #3, if one can get an appointment at a location where passports are issued on the spot, this is an option. When I spoke with the agent yesterday, there were no appointments available between now and my planned departure in Miami, my closest location, which is a 4-5 hour drive one way. Walk-ins not permitted. In the article written on April 14 referred up thread (post #2400) by Nick at Frequent Miler, he was unable to get an appt in his state or anywhere close by and the only appointments offered were El Paso or Puerto Rico. So while it is possible in theory to get an emergency passport issued, in reality it is a challenge.
Hindsight is great but when I sent off my application together with my old passport in the first week of March and paid for expedited service, it stated that the timeline was 5-7 weeks. Even if mine took the full 7 weeks, I would have still been two weeks away from travel. Three weeks after I applied, the timeline changed from 7-9 weeks, but those in process earlier were supposed to still follow the original 5-7 weeks. Had I even imagined this would be an issue, I would have made different (better) decisions months earlier - like renewing as soon as I returned from my last international trip in October.
Apr 29, 2023 | 9:42 am
#2427
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 15,879
I have no idea what the Specific US Embassy in Denmark (or Sweden)guidelines are, I defer to GU on that one, as I know that there are some missions abroad that no longer accept mail in's, but others may. I would suggest that anyone wanting to do so, inquires of the mission that they are planning to do it at. Looking at the Sweden link above there do seem to be a few caveats though (that it is not your first adult passport, etc)
Apr 29, 2023 | 9:45 am
#2428
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
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Posts: 102,077
First adult passport exclusion is based on having to do DS-11. DS-11s have to be done in-person. For DS-82 eligible applicants, it can be done by mail. US nationals become eligible for DS-82s if they’ve already done a DS-11 after they are 16 years of age. Are there 16 and 17 year olds eligible for DS-82s? Yes, some (but not most); and some such DS-82 eligible teenagers and young adults reapply just because they or their parents don’t like their passport issue or expiration dates or the photo they submitted. [There is no prohibition on applying for a renewal passport even 9 years before expiration date on a 10-year full duration passport.]
SusanDK,
Renewal by mail is still around at the embassy in Denmark:
https://dk.usembassy.gov/renew-an-adult-passport/
SusanDK,
Renewal by mail is still around at the embassy in Denmark:
https://dk.usembassy.gov/renew-an-adult-passport/
Last edited by GUWonder; Apr 29, 2023 at 10:06 am
Apr 29, 2023 | 1:59 pm
#2429
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 582
tl;dr do not come to the Netherlands (or Belgium) expecting to renew your US passport while on holiday.
The US consular presence in the Netherlands would like you to believe that regular adult passport renewals (DS-82) are in fact ONLY available by mail.
No page on https://nl.usembassy.gov describes the process for an in-person DS-82 renewal. It has gone down the memory hole. (The Brussels embassy seems to have also recently (well, since last year) scrubbed their website of information about in-person regular passport renewals and pick-ups as well.)
I am pretty sure one can still apply in person with a DS-82 if you make an appointment at the Amsterdam consulate, and come prepared with everything you need - but they expressly do not tell you how.
NB - even when you *do* go in person (as I did with my kids' most recent renewals, since those cannot be done by mail), you will still be forced to surrender the current passports and have the new passports delivered by mail unless the vice-consul takes pity on you for truly exigent circumstances; i.e. you have to bring self-addressed, postage-paid return mailers (DHL or PostNL only). Enjoy temporary de-facto statelessness!
The reason given is "the Amsterdam consulate is too small to meet demand for in-person appointments and pick-ups." I guess I don't disagree given that something like 3100 appointments per year (12 per business day, excluding holidays) are actually made available to serve the ~35000 US citizens who live in the Netherlands. But it's shameful that the State Department just built a gigantic new US embassy complex built in Wassenaar which.... offers zero in-person consular or US citizen services.
In the grand scheme of things, this isn't the worst example of the diminished state capacity of the USA - but as an American living abroad regularly dealing with this clownshow, it's certainly one that hits close to home.
The US consular presence in the Netherlands would like you to believe that regular adult passport renewals (DS-82) are in fact ONLY available by mail.
No page on https://nl.usembassy.gov describes the process for an in-person DS-82 renewal. It has gone down the memory hole. (The Brussels embassy seems to have also recently (well, since last year) scrubbed their website of information about in-person regular passport renewals and pick-ups as well.)
I am pretty sure one can still apply in person with a DS-82 if you make an appointment at the Amsterdam consulate, and come prepared with everything you need - but they expressly do not tell you how.
NB - even when you *do* go in person (as I did with my kids' most recent renewals, since those cannot be done by mail), you will still be forced to surrender the current passports and have the new passports delivered by mail unless the vice-consul takes pity on you for truly exigent circumstances; i.e. you have to bring self-addressed, postage-paid return mailers (DHL or PostNL only). Enjoy temporary de-facto statelessness!
The reason given is "the Amsterdam consulate is too small to meet demand for in-person appointments and pick-ups." I guess I don't disagree given that something like 3100 appointments per year (12 per business day, excluding holidays) are actually made available to serve the ~35000 US citizens who live in the Netherlands. But it's shameful that the State Department just built a gigantic new US embassy complex built in Wassenaar which.... offers zero in-person consular or US citizen services.
In the grand scheme of things, this isn't the worst example of the diminished state capacity of the USA - but as an American living abroad regularly dealing with this clownshow, it's certainly one that hits close to home.
Apr 29, 2023 | 2:13 pm
#2430
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: DC
Programs: MPGS, 1MM
Posts: 63
Updating what's happened so far -- my status page changed from "not available" to "shipped" overnight. Ever amazing.