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 15, 2020 | 9:00 am
#512
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
What I would do is wait until they resume processing standard applications and open up expedited processing again. I would then dive in for expedited processing and submit the application.
Expedited processing for US passport applications costs many people a decent chunk extra, but it may be worth it. Expedited processing more commonly costs me nothing extra as I try to do it when outside of the US.
Apr 16, 2020 | 10:07 am
#513
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 254
I would not send my passport to these guys for routine services. You run the risk of them losing your paper work including your old passport.
My app has been stuck since February 25th. i called a number of times and they have not been able to give me a answer. The call center did not appear to be in the same place where the passport is processed and now my concern is what happened to my old passport.
Stay away from them unless, just like they said, it's a life or death situation.
My app has been stuck since February 25th. i called a number of times and they have not been able to give me a answer. The call center did not appear to be in the same place where the passport is processed and now my concern is what happened to my old passport.
Stay away from them unless, just like they said, it's a life or death situation.
Apr 17, 2020 | 4:56 am
#514
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
Paying a State Department fee for a passport application to be expedited is currently not a useful option, as the service has been temporarily pulled by the State Department. It will be an option again at some point later this year.
Unless your ordinary passport application is being filed for a “life and death” emergency-based passport application, my suggestion would be to hold back on applying for a US passport at this time since it’s more likely to end up in the bottom of a stack of applications sidelined due to policy and staffing practices at this time.
And the consequences of being in a stack of sidelined applications aren’t all that pretty either .... even when they finally do get around to handling the application for more than simple sorting processes.
Unless your ordinary passport application is being filed for a “life and death” emergency-based passport application, my suggestion would be to hold back on applying for a US passport at this time since it’s more likely to end up in the bottom of a stack of applications sidelined due to policy and staffing practices at this time.
And the consequences of being in a stack of sidelined applications aren’t all that pretty either .... even when they finally do get around to handling the application for more than simple sorting processes.
Last edited by GUWonder; Apr 17, 2020 at 5:02 am
May 5, 2020 | 12:19 am
#515
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 6
Any updates?
MSerforfun, please let us know when it arrives.
My was sent on March 22 to Philadelphia. Still no word...
My was sent on March 22 to Philadelphia. Still no word...
I would not send my passport to these guys for routine services. You run the risk of them losing your paper work including your old passport.
My app has been stuck since February 25th. i called a number of times and they have not been able to give me a answer. The call center did not appear to be in the same place where the passport is processed and now my concern is what happened to my old passport.
Stay away from them unless, just like they said, it's a life or death situation.
My app has been stuck since February 25th. i called a number of times and they have not been able to give me a answer. The call center did not appear to be in the same place where the passport is processed and now my concern is what happened to my old passport.
Stay away from them unless, just like they said, it's a life or death situation.
May 5, 2020 | 9:26 am
#516
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 4
Literally on the day when they announced the closure of all passport facilities, my passport was about to expire in 6 months and I wanted to start the renewal process.
I'm stuck now in China, with an expiring passport and an expiring residence permit. No new passport, no new visa.
I can't find any information anywhere about a timeframe or any news from the state department.
People working abroad still need new passports! Even the IRS calls backs some of their workers.
I'm stuck now in China, with an expiring passport and an expiring residence permit. No new passport, no new visa.
I can't find any information anywhere about a timeframe or any news from the state department.
People working abroad still need new passports! Even the IRS calls backs some of their workers.
May 5, 2020 | 9:29 am
#517
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
When I told people to hold off on applying for US passports unless it was a documented "life and death emergency" since standard applications without such documented emergency tagging were getting sidelined and commonly not being issued, some people were in disbelief.
Here's what was put up on the US State Department's website last week:
Here's what was put up on the US State Department's website last week:
Originally Posted by state.gov
If you apply or renew now, you will experience significant delays of several months to receive your U.S. passport and the return of your citizenship evidence documents (such as birth certificates or naturalization certificates). Unless you have a life-or-death emergency, please wait until we resume normal operations to apply for or renew your passport.
May 5, 2020 | 9:35 am
#518
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
Literally on the day when they announced the closure of all passport facilities, my passport was about to expire in 6 months and I wanted to start the renewal process.
I'm stuck now in China, with an expiring passport and an expiring residence permit. No new passport, no new visa.
I can't find any information anywhere about a timeframe or any news from the state department.
People working abroad still need new passports! Even the IRS calls backs some of their workers.
I'm stuck now in China, with an expiring passport and an expiring residence permit. No new passport, no new visa.
I can't find any information anywhere about a timeframe or any news from the state department.
People working abroad still need new passports! Even the IRS calls backs some of their workers.
An eventual step may be for the host country or other countries to just acknowledge that passports are valid (at least for some purposes) for X months beyond the printed expiration dates on the passports, but I haven't asked around to see what is being done on that front yet.
Last edited by GUWonder; May 5, 2020 at 9:46 am
May 5, 2020 | 9:57 am
#519
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 4
The next step is to seek consular services at the US C-G or Embassy closest to you. But keep in mind that this isn't usually considered an emergency and staff will want to push you off into normal operating hours. If that goes nowhere, then try Overseas Citizen Services at +1-888-407-4747 (or +1 202-501-4444). If that too goes nowhere, hit up the office one of your US Senators to seek constituent services.
An eventual step may be for the host country or other countries to just acknowledge that passports are valid (at least for some purposes) for X months beyond the printed expiration dates on the passports, but I haven't asked around to see what is being done on that front yet.
An eventual step may be for the host country or other countries to just acknowledge that passports are valid (at least for some purposes) for X months beyond the printed expiration dates on the passports, but I haven't asked around to see what is being done on that front yet.
It looks like the Chinese immigration bureau is willing to extend the visa for 1 or 2 months, which would give me time till October/November.
But even this timeframe looks fragile.
Thank you for the information, will update my part once I get more information from the Chinese side!
Different story in the UK:
According to a transcript seen by the BBC, she said government health guidance did not mean that staff "should stay at home instead of delivering critical services".
"What is also critical for us as a business is to have a manageable level of work in the system, so that when we start our recovery we are not overwhelmed by our demands," she said.
"What is also critical for us as a business is to have a manageable level of work in the system, so that when we start our recovery we are not overwhelmed by our demands," she said.
Last edited by Ika2276; May 5, 2020 at 10:38 am
May 5, 2020 | 10:51 pm
#520
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 254
I have not received my passport yet. I sent mine on February 22nd. I have not received anything yet. I am concerned that they may have lost my passport now. I imagine, upon beginning the processing of passport, that they will have millions of passports coming their way. How will they be able to handle that volume along with the backlog from prior the to the pandemic all at once?
May 6, 2020 | 4:47 pm
#521
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 6
Which office?
Thanks for confirming, MSerforfun, though its not what I wanted to hear... May I ask which city your passport was sent to? Please let us know when it arrives. TIA
I have not received my passport yet. I sent mine on February 22nd. I have not received anything yet. I am concerned that they may have lost my passport now. I imagine, upon beginning the processing of passport, that they will have millions of passports coming their way. How will they be able to handle that volume along with the backlog from prior the to the pandemic all at once?
May 8, 2020 | 9:39 pm
#522
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 254
Just wondering, as all of you are reading this thread, did anyone's application sent in February or before mid March get put on the back burner?
May 15, 2020 | 7:28 pm
#523
Join Date: Sep 2011
Programs: Delta DM, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,515
Not in my case, fastest renewal I've ever had (routine service):
3/18/2020: Mailed renewal package via Priority Mail
3/20/2020: Delivery to Processing Center in Philadelphia
3/24/2020: Check cashed
3/26/2020: Website shows application as processing (currently processing in 6-8 weeks)
3/28/2020: Status changed to "approved" and e-mail sent stating passport shipped with tracking #. Expected delivery on or around 4/4/2020
3/31/2020: Received passport
So a total of 13 days from dropping this off at the PO until receipt of the new passport.
3/18/2020: Mailed renewal package via Priority Mail
3/20/2020: Delivery to Processing Center in Philadelphia
3/24/2020: Check cashed
3/26/2020: Website shows application as processing (currently processing in 6-8 weeks)
3/28/2020: Status changed to "approved" and e-mail sent stating passport shipped with tracking #. Expected delivery on or around 4/4/2020
3/31/2020: Received passport
So a total of 13 days from dropping this off at the PO until receipt of the new passport.
May 21, 2020 | 4:14 pm
#524
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Illinois
Posts: 6
MSerforfun:
I sent my application around the same time as you. Have you heard anything yet? I just checked my status today and now its says NOT FOUND. I really hope that means that they have sent it, but I have a feeling it may not be the case. My husband received his at the end of March and we sent ours at the same time and they arrived at the same time.
I sent my application around the same time as you. Have you heard anything yet? I just checked my status today and now its says NOT FOUND. I really hope that means that they have sent it, but I have a feeling it may not be the case. My husband received his at the end of March and we sent ours at the same time and they arrived at the same time.
Last edited by trinitey2000; May 22, 2020 at 7:33 am
