Non-Expedited Passport Renewal, Mailed to Irving, TX
 

Non-Expedited Passport Renewal, Mailed to Irving, TX center

Mailed - 8 Nov. 2019
Received at Passport Center - 11 Nov 2019
Visible in System - 12 Nov 2019
Check Cashed - 13 Nov 2019
Email received saying passport shipped - 12 December 2019

So looks like passport processing times went up slightly, but still well within the six to eight weeks

It’s gone up for applications submitted domestically in recent weeks, but even 7 weeks seems to be the bad side of getting it.

For applications submitted outside of the US, processing times of received US passport applications are way faster ... all for the standard fee.

Email today that the State Department had approved passport and to expect delivery around Dec. 21. So, seven weeks and one day, which includes an initial 12 day delivery delay for non-expedited service

12/17/2019 - passportstatus.state.gov shows approved, should be received on or around 12/23/2019
12/18/2019 - USPS informed delivery shows expected delivery 12/19/2019

Yay!

New passport received - 16 Dec 2019
Old passport received - 19 Dec 2019

5 weeks for standard renewal
 

Recent passport renewal experience: 5 weeks for standard processing, door to door, including mail. 23 business days (2 federal holidays).
Actual time from receipt at processing center to approval: 3 weeks (14 business days).

Details (many of them!) provided below for the obsessives (like me). I got a lengthy crash course in the complexities of the passport application process and this write up ends with a few tidbits that I wouldn't have expected.

October 29 (Tuesday) DS-82 renewal (no changes) mailed First-Class USPS from metro Detroit to Philadelphia, PA

November 2 (Saturday) application arrived in Philly (4 days to deliver)

November 4 (Monday) application received/"in process," per status updated online as of November 6. Signed up to receive status update emails

November 5 (Tuesday) application fee check cleared

November 23 (Saturday) finally receive an email saying the application was received on November 4 and will take 6-8 weeks to process. New passport ultimately shows this date as the issue date, but I won't know this for a few weeks to come.

November 25 (Monday) status unchanged on website. Called National Passport Information Center to inquire about expediting since travel is beginning in ten days. They informed me the application had moved to "final stages" of processing and I should receive an email with tracking info by Wednesday at the latest, with passport arriving by Friday. A few hours after the call, a completely blank email arrives from the State Dept (this will turn out to be the second and final email I receive, despite providing my email address on the application and signing up twice for updates). Website updated several hours later this same day to reflect application "approved," but expected delivery date shown as Sunday December 1 (but Priority does not deliver on Sundays)

November 26 (Tuesday) new passport sent out via Priority Mail from Tucson, per tracking info obtained later

November 27 (Wednesday) Still no tracking number received. Called again and told the passport will arrive by Saturday November 30. I asked for and was given the tracking number and see the passport has purportedly left Tucson already. Per postmark, the old passport is sent out from Portsmouth, New Hampshire on this date as well

November 30 (Saturday) new passport finally arrives at Detroit airport this morning. Tracking still shows it will be delivered by 8pm (impossible). On this same day, my old passport (that was sent out a day later than the new one) arrives via First-Class, 65-cent mail. After midnight, the 8pm expected delivery note is removed from the tracking site, with no new date given and no change of location

December 2 (Monday) passport finally checked in at local metro Detroit post office after 1am and out for delivery at 7am. Expected delivery time 4:30-6:30, later revised to 6:30-7:30. At 7:35pm, no mail had arrived. Found carrier still delivering mail nearby and asked if he would make it to my street that night (we got skipped the previous Monday). He looks for my mail and can't find the passport along with the regular mail. I tell him it's Priority (in case it's in another section of the bins). He says "is it UPS, not USPS?" and "is it Priority Express"? (No, and I already explained I was asking because it had taken a week). He says he doesn't have it. I reiterate that the tracking shows it's out for delivery and it's critical that I get it. He finally turns around and looks through a random discard type pile and finds my passport in there. WHY. I thank him profusely and leave. The other mail arrives at 8pm. No telling when the passport would've been discovered in the random pile, but there was no way I'd have gotten it any sooner than Tuesday. 9-digit passport locator number, despite looking like a new passport number (9 digits starting with a 6) turns out to be completely different from the actual number

December 5 (Thursday) travel commences!

Takeaways: Both reps I spoke with at the call center were informative and helpful. I made, rescheduled, and ultimately cancelled an appointment at the Detroit office; it was somewhat reassuring to have a backup plan, but I'm glad I didn't need to go to all of that extra effort. Appointments were relatively easy to come by, even for the following day. The consistent theme I found when reading others' experiences is the Texas office (that serves CA, NY, TX, FL, IL and MN) tends to be much faster than the Philly office (that serves everyone else). 10 days to three weeks vs three to five-and-a-half weeks, on average (with the processing times slightly longer in the summer months). The actual passports are printed and shipped from all over the country regardless of whether the application starts in Philly or Dallas, though. The old passports generally seem to come back from New Hampshire. In light of the uncertainty interjected by the mail service (that effectively added two weeks to the overall process), expediting in person and leaving with a new passport same day seems like a great idea for next time. My experience of getting almost no updates without having to call was standard (and I actually had better luck than some people, who got no email updates at all). Problems with the passport application (usually with the picture) tend to take a full month to be disclosed to the applicant, which results in the total time being more like eight weeks. Going in person would avoid this issue as well.

U.S Passport Timeline
 

12/2: USPS meeting for application and photo (application for passport book and card mailed off same day)
12/20: received passport book
12/23: received passport card

Edite: *Regular processing timeline and non expedited*

God USPS is a cluster all over the country.

Glad you got it on time. Thanks for the detailed recap!

UPDATE
12/26 Today I Called. They said that my application is in Louisina and still In Process.

8 weeks and 1 day waitting

Standard service for book+card renewals
12/17: mailed from California via Certified Mail with Return Receipt
12/21: delivered Irving TX
12/24: check cashed
1/2: passportstatus.state.gov updated to In Process
1/13: received approved email and shipped email with tracking number
1/16: received passport book
1/18: received passport card

Mrs. Lee and I just renewed both our passports.
Expedited service for both.

12/16 Dropped off at local post office (Atlanta); Priority Mail; both applications/passports in same envelope
12/19 USPS tracking shows delivered Philadelphia 4:53am
12/23 Checks cashed
12/27 Received email notifications from USPS for two separate tracking numbers en route, estimated delivery 12/30. Logging in to USPS shows these are coming from passport center.
12/30 USPS Informed Delivery shows two mailpieces and two packages due today; Indeed, later that day USPS delivered new passport books (priority mail) and new passport cards (first class)
12/31 Old passports & passport cards returned via regular USPS


Two weeks exactly door to door even with Christmas in between. I'm happy.


From 12/19 onward I checked the passportstatus.state.gov site every day using both of our info. No results ever came back. Even today, with both new and old passports back in hand, that website still shows "Application Status: Not Found" when I enter either my or Mrs. Lee's info.

Here is my schedule so far - still haven't gotten my old one back but it's in the mail at least. Travel on Jan 9th so it's a bit nervous.
12/18 Mailed from CA to Philly.
12/20 Received in Philly via Priority Mail Express USPS.
12/27 Shipped new replacement passport from Philly via Priority Mail Express.
12/28 Received new passport in CA.
12/30 Old passport mailed from Portsmouth NH using regular First Class Mail.
1/6 - Still waiting on old passport, although mail has not come today yet.
1/9 2pm - I have an upgrade-cleared United flight SFO-PVG and need my old visa... wish me luck guys.

My standard renewal application was received in Texas on December 20. New passport arrived yesterday, January 13. Figure 14 business days with the two holidays excluded or just over 3 weeks until I received it.

DS-5504 Routine
 

I submitted DS-5504 to replace Temp passport (Routine processing):

• Sent the application (DS-5504) via USPS 1st class on Dec 17
• Philly passport center entered it as received on Dec 26 (Holidays)
• New passport processed / shipped on Jan 16
• Arrived on Jan 18

Surprised at how fast some people have been receiving their passports and now I'm getting paranoid there's something wrong with my renewal, which was supposed to be the 2-3 weeks expedited service since I'm traveling on 2/6.

1/09 - mailed
1/14 - received in Philly
1/15 - check cashed
1/22 - application status: in process .....