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)
Jul 11, 2023 | 12:49 pm
#2581
Join Date: Jul 2023
Posts: 6
Thank you. Do you mind sharing which locator did you have? The first two digit of the locator # would tell. Mine is 19, which is DC. Thanks in advance.
Data point from me:
Renewed my passport and chose expedited
Mailed to Philadelphia - June 2
Received - June 5
Processing - June 13
Approved - July 7
Mailed - July 7
Received - July 11
Website status never changed after it became Approved (I got the mail date from the USPS envelope) and like others I never received an email at any point.
Renewed my passport and chose expedited
Mailed to Philadelphia - June 2
Received - June 5
Processing - June 13
Approved - July 7
Mailed - July 7
Received - July 11
Website status never changed after it became Approved (I got the mail date from the USPS envelope) and like others I never received an email at any point.
Jul 12, 2023 | 2:41 pm
#2584
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: LAS; home will always be DTW
Programs: Delta
Posts: 199
Same day passport replacement centers
Last used my passport in 2019 (expires 2028) and then put it in such a "safe place" that now I can't find it. I've torn my house apart the last two months looking for it. That sucker has disappeared.
International trip booked a long time ago, leaving 7/28, so I need to get an urgent travel appointment for a replacement. I'll be on the phone at 4.45am PDT this Saturday (14 days prior to flight) to see what I can get.
I have all the paperwork and photos ready, just need the appointment. There are no passport centers in Nevada, so I will need to fly out to one. Do all the passport centers have the ability to print off a new passport book the same day or are there certain ones that only do that? If so, which ones specifically?
Not starting to panic .... yet.
International trip booked a long time ago, leaving 7/28, so I need to get an urgent travel appointment for a replacement. I'll be on the phone at 4.45am PDT this Saturday (14 days prior to flight) to see what I can get.
I have all the paperwork and photos ready, just need the appointment. There are no passport centers in Nevada, so I will need to fly out to one. Do all the passport centers have the ability to print off a new passport book the same day or are there certain ones that only do that? If so, which ones specifically?
Not starting to panic .... yet.
Jul 13, 2023 | 10:12 am
#2585
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: 36,633
I would just do this during July. Its several annoying steps that require an hour maximum per step. Photo. Application. Check-writing (15 minutes). Going to a post office and getting a priority mail flat rate envelope (9x12) or ordering it free on usps. Mailing via priority mail, which means taking it to a mailbox or post office.
I forgot to check your location so dont know how inconvenient some of these steps would be for you.
Jul 13, 2023 | 4:32 pm
#2586
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: WAS
Programs: enjoyed being warm spit for a few years on CO/UA but now nothing :(
Posts: 2,818
based on what Ive read in this thread I would just use the passport wizard to make the application and then mail it all in with your check and photo. I did my photo at Walgreens - surely any chain drugstore or photo shop service can do it. With your travel already booked I would personally prefer to just mail in the documents. I didnt even have scheduled travel and I still did expedite service plus expedited postage to return. I would also use priority mail flat fee envelope for mailing everything.
I would just do this during July. Its several annoying steps that require an hour maximum per step. Photo. Application. Check-writing (15 minutes). Going to a post office and getting a priority mail flat rate envelope (9x12) or ordering it free on usps. Mailing via priority mail, which means taking it to a mailbox or post office.
I forgot to check your location so dont know how inconvenient some of these steps would be for you.
I would just do this during July. Its several annoying steps that require an hour maximum per step. Photo. Application. Check-writing (15 minutes). Going to a post office and getting a priority mail flat rate envelope (9x12) or ordering it free on usps. Mailing via priority mail, which means taking it to a mailbox or post office.
I forgot to check your location so dont know how inconvenient some of these steps would be for you.
Jul 14, 2023 | 10:20 am
#2587
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
Programs: UA Lifetime 1K (3.52MM BIS miles) AA EXP (3.64MM)
Posts: 1,097
Renewed my passport and chose expedited
Mailed application/pix/old passport(express) to Philadelphia (from Oregon) - June 21
Received Passport - July 13
Wow! much faster than expected!
One minor disappointment, unlike prior renewals, the old passport was not returned.
Mailed application/pix/old passport(express) to Philadelphia (from Oregon) - June 21
Received Passport - July 13
Wow! much faster than expected!
One minor disappointment, unlike prior renewals, the old passport was not returned.
Jul 14, 2023 | 10:51 am
#2588
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: SFO
Programs: COdbaUA Platinum 2MM
Posts: 5,602
Renewed my passport and chose expedited
Mailed application/pix/old passport(express) to Philadelphia (from Oregon) - June 21
Received Passport - July 13
Wow! much faster than expected!
One minor disappointment, unlike prior renewals, the old passport was not returned.
Mailed application/pix/old passport(express) to Philadelphia (from Oregon) - June 21
Received Passport - July 13
Wow! much faster than expected!
One minor disappointment, unlike prior renewals, the old passport was not returned.
Jul 14, 2023 | 1:37 pm
#2589
Join Date: Jul 2023
Posts: 1
Mailed from CA to TX - May 27
Processing - June 1
Approved - July 14
Locator Code 18 - Chicago
July 14 USPS Informed Delivery Pre-Shipment location:
PASSPORT SERVICES/DOS HOT SPRINGS
HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK ,AR
Processing - June 1
Approved - July 14
Locator Code 18 - Chicago
July 14 USPS Informed Delivery Pre-Shipment location:
PASSPORT SERVICES/DOS HOT SPRINGS
HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK ,AR
Last edited by cheddarv; Jul 14, 2023 at 4:52 pm Reason: updates
Jul 14, 2023 | 8:34 pm
#2590
Join Date: Jul 2023
Posts: 6
Locator 19 (DC)
5/6 Applied for minor in local county office Expedite Service
5/11 Application accepted at locator 19
5/12 Check Cashed
7/13 Shipped with Priority Mail Tracking Number
7/14 Approved Status but tracking # is gone
7/17 Delivered
Called to let them know I need the old passport (with valid visa) back, they put a note. Waiting nervously for both old and new passports.
5/6 Applied for minor in local county office Expedite Service
5/11 Application accepted at locator 19
5/12 Check Cashed
7/13 Shipped with Priority Mail Tracking Number
7/14 Approved Status but tracking # is gone
7/17 Delivered
Called to let them know I need the old passport (with valid visa) back, they put a note. Waiting nervously for both old and new passports.
Last edited by jjlucus; Jul 23, 2023 at 12:32 pm
Jul 15, 2023 | 10:29 am
#2591
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Pensacola, FL (PNS)
Programs: Delta 1.99M, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Diamond, Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,715
It seems like things have really begun moving faster.
Maybe the backlog or "glut" of summer travel (including college students) has been worked through?
Maybe the backlog or "glut" of summer travel (including college students) has been worked through?
Jul 15, 2023 | 3:07 pm
#2592
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
Authorized overtime hours has reached unprecedented levels per week. Passport adjudicator numbers are also up by about 10% and slated for another 10% increase; however, the background checks tend to be the bottle neck for activating new hires in this role. There has also been the brining back of retired ones and some reassigned ones to help.
For a sense of how wrong things have gone with US passports: many a Congressional office has seen more constituent requests for expedited passport help within just the past 18 months than the very same offices had in total during the 5-18 years prior to the pandemic.
Jul 15, 2023 | 4:22 pm
#2593
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: 36,633
Any chance that congressional offices are getting more requests for help simply because the press articles mention this option? Im pretty sure that past passport application processes didnt include so many people asking for help. Did we even know that we could seek help?
Jul 16, 2023 | 9:52 am
#2594
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Pensacola, FL (PNS)
Programs: Delta 1.99M, Hyatt Globalist, IHG Diamond, Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,715
Part of it may be the summer travel season is anything but fresh now, but thats not really whats so much at work now. Here is what is at work:
Authorized overtime hours has reached unprecedented levels per week. Passport adjudicator numbers are also up by about 10% and slated for another 10% increase; however, the background checks tend to be the bottle neck for activating new hires in this role. There has also been the brining back of retired ones and some reassigned ones to help.
For a sense of how wrong things have gone with US passports: many a Congressional office has seen more constituent requests for expedited passport help within just the past 18 months than the very same offices had in total during the 5-18 years prior to the pandemic.
Authorized overtime hours has reached unprecedented levels per week. Passport adjudicator numbers are also up by about 10% and slated for another 10% increase; however, the background checks tend to be the bottle neck for activating new hires in this role. There has also been the brining back of retired ones and some reassigned ones to help.
For a sense of how wrong things have gone with US passports: many a Congressional office has seen more constituent requests for expedited passport help within just the past 18 months than the very same offices had in total during the 5-18 years prior to the pandemic.
Hiring issues for in-person roles span the globe. ESPECIALLY when background checks are in the mix.
This is why - as FlyerTalk members - we've seen issues at Schiphol... hiring+bg checks.
Jul 16, 2023 | 3:01 pm
#2595
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: LAS; home will always be DTW
Programs: Delta
Posts: 199
ETA:
I called Saturday 7am PT. Was the agent's second call
Unfortunately, the 14 days exactly from date of travel does NOT include weekends (or federal holidays), so I need to call yet again first thing tomorrow morning. Wish that exclusion was noted somewhere on the website.
Halfway to panicville
I called Saturday 7am PT. Was the agent's second call
Unfortunately, the 14 days exactly from date of travel does NOT include weekends (or federal holidays), so I need to call yet again first thing tomorrow morning. Wish that exclusion was noted somewhere on the website.
Halfway to panicville