Thanks for clarifying. Now I feel stupid for not knowing that I should’ve asked for expedited shipping. For some reason I thought it would be automatically shipped quickly and I wasn’t offered anything at the post office. I thought paying the $60 expedited fee and the $17.56 to mail it back quickly was enough to expedite everything.

And I feel extra stupid for knowing any of this beforehand despite reading about it supposedly thoroughly in FT and other places.

So here are the datapoints I have some pictures for (some stuff is marked out for obvious reasons):

1. Naturalized on Aug 7 (it was a saturday but they are doing it on weekends to clear the huge backlog)

2. Submitted to USPS (Aug 9). Don't have the receipt but it is similar to what was posted earlier. I found a same day appointment in a small town on the south edge of Houston. There is no tracking information on the receipt.:


3. Check Cashed (Aug 13)


4. Passport status updated to shipped with return tracking number (Please note that there was no tracking information available to me before this step):

Thank you for sharing your info and screenshots. You really didn’t have to.

So you sent your application packet without expediting that shipment, and the check got cashed about 4 days after you sent it?

Well, never mind all my crying and confusion. My passport tracker application says in process now (Aug 20)! The locator number starts with 34.

That's good news. good luck

Aug. 17: Applied for US passport, expedited processing, 1-2 express delivery, barcoded application from online wizard.
Aug. 20: Online status changed to “in process” with 34 locator number.
Aug. 23: Check cashed.

You should not feel stupid. The USPS is doing its job well- it still only takes only a couple of days for most mail to move clear across the country to final destination. But for some reason, Citibank was/is taking up to six weeks to receive, scan and enter applications into the system so actual State employees can review and make a determination about the application. Submitting the application with expedited shipping (priority or express mail) results not so much in the application reaching the processing center more quickly but in it being entered into the system (and check cashed) ahead of all of the "regularly submitted" or non-expedited shipping applications.

One thing I did that I’m hoping might help is that I submitted a passport application generated by the state dept’s online wizard, so it contains a barcode that they can just scan to get the info. I don’t know if most applicants actually do that but I doubt it. Hopefully this makes processing it faster.

Baby Swede's passport expires in March 2022. No immediate int'l travel plans (sky-high prices to the Caribbean over Thanksgiving and Christmas squashed those ideas), but I still paid for expedited service just in case.

7/23 - Miraculous found an evening weekday appointment for 8/19 at the USPS Altura Facility in Aurora, CO
8/19 5:30pm - Took Baby Swede to get her passport renewed; Mrs. Swede had to attend Miss Swede's back-to-school night, so we got the DS-3053 form filled out
8/19 6:00pm - Arrived and knocked on the door; USPS employee confirmed name and let us in
8/19 6:05pm - Ask to approach the desk; USPS employee looks over everything and rejects the application. DS-3053 was filled out with blue ink, not black. Ugh.
8/19 6:10pm - USPS employee was super helpful, and said everything else was acceptable.
8/19 6:10pm - He also said that walk-ins are accepted first-come-first-serve between 9-11am every Tuesday through Saturday, but he did warn that people line up super early. It's not the Aurora Passport Agency, but hey.
8/19 7:00pm - Came home and hopped on my laptop to find another passport appointment that wasn't in the middle of the weekday 100 miles away
8/19 7:02pm - Book appointment for the next morning at 7:45am at the same USPS facility! :eek:
8/20 6:45am - Baby Swede, Mrs. Swede, and I drive back to Aurora
8/20 7:25am - Arrive and knock on the door; we're let inside
8/20 7:32am - The 7:30am appointment doesn't show up, so we're processed
8/20 7:45am - Back out the door

Props to the employees at the USPS Altura Facility. They run a super efficient operation.

tl;dr - if you don't want to drive to rural Colorado, you might want to give the walk-in line at the USPS Altura Facility a try

As soon as I got my citizenship interview notice, I made a USPS passport appointment at the closest office to me in the southern suburbs and there was only one slot left for that same day, which was like a month later.

I read through all the posts from the past 30 days so I think I have a feel for what's going on.

Our situation...wife and 5 y/o son had to get "renewals" for expiring passports, but we are not planning to travel out of the country until Jan 2022 at the earliest. 18 weeks door-to-door is kinda pushing it (would be last week of December), not to mention that the lady at USPS who authorized our son's passport estimated "up to 6 months" and also warned us that our son's photos were technically not acceptable but that the passport center seems to approve most kids' passports even when they shouldn't. It also makes me nervous cause I'm not sure if I should book flights for early January before knowing we will have the passport.

Well thanks to this thread I'm feeling far less anxiety now. It seems like it would be safe to book travel for January, and if necessary, contact passport office to switch to expedite and/or contact congressperson to help as the date approaches. Probably don't need to worry about that til November. Anything I'm missing?

well, thats a loaded question, but I would start with - what about YOUR passport? :)

LOL. Mine is good for three more years.

To clarify: Would anyone reading disagree that it is sensible for me to book travel for the family in January 2022 having just submitted regular applications/renewals on Aug. 20? With the fact that we can later expedite/contact congressperson for help if it comes to that? TIA!

I would send them in - although it's a crap shoot as to which processing center they would be sent to, it does seem that processing times at many locations is dropping, with several reports here of it taking only 3 or 4 weeks which is better than pre-COVID for many locations. And, as you said, you can get your congresscri-, um, congressperson's office involved if it seems to be going south. Just remember to pay for expedited mailing of the applications TO the State Dept at the time of application. You can add expedited processing later on if you like.

One more data point. Two passports mailed in same package (but in separate internal envelopes). A month (30th to 30th) from them receiving to me receiving, 3 extra days if you count from when I dropped at USPS.

• Expedited application, passport+card, no overnight return, $200
• July 27 mailed priority mail
• July 30th late night/31st delivered to national passport center
• August 3 received and "in process", "reviewing documents"
• August 30 "approved", "we're now printing", should receive around September 4
• (checked on Friday 27th, still said reviewing documents, but didn't check over the weekend)
• August 30 priority mail dropped two passports in my mail slot (website still says 9/4)
• September 2 passport cards arrived
• September 17 old passports and passport cards arrived bundled
• Signed up for email notices, never received one
• [edited to update the last two item dates]

I can't complain about my experience. Now just need to update GE but I read on another thread I should wait a month for some reason.

Do you happen to know which office it was processed in?

I don't know - I mailed to the national center in PA, if that helps.

The first two digits of the locator number indicate the office.

68xxxxxxx -- where would that be? I just checked the mailing envelope and return address is Portsmouth, NH. Hope this helps!

Thanks! And yeah 68 is from the NH office.

There’s a lot of speculation over which offices process things “faster” and in another message board they’re claiming the office in Charleston, SC (where my application is pending) is rather slow. But we’ll see how it goes.

13 days behind you, I really didn't want to double my cost to go expedited but I just hate the uncertainty of not having tracking there and back, plus hearing that they don't even confirm processing for weeks with normal processing. In the end I paid up.

My USPS has been great (used them three times in the last few years) but they always default to super-expensive 1-day priority mail. I'm sure I could just ask for slower service but it seems strange they never ask... I don't think they get a sales bonus do they?

Not as far as I know. 😂 In fact, several other people and I were not even offered priority or express mail delivery from the USPS office to the passport processing centers. But I still lucked out and had my status change to “in process” a mere three days after I sent it. I wish I knew on which basis these applications are sent to their respective processing centers.

One person in the other boards send his expedited application the same day I did but he already got his passport today. Literally two weeks exactly from when he submitted his things. And he said the office was Atlanta (locator code 74).

I’m glad my application didn’t end up in the New Orleans office though.

According to earlier threads, it's not sent to a specific processing enter. It's sent to lockbox location(s) operated by Citibank where the documents are scanned. Essentially the different passport sites are merely printing facilities.

You do know there is a government-developed process map published for this stuff — one that isn’t really ever fully up-to-date? ;)

The location matters even after Citibank is out of the picture. Not all State sites have the same way of working productively. Unfortunately, it’s not all that easy to pick and choose what happens with where it goes, especially when dealing with the USPS to send in applications.

So you are implying that if you don't use USPS to send in the application you can pick and choose where it's processed?

Unfortunately, I thought the address to send new expedited applications is the same for all acceptance facilities unless you use one of those passport agencies

For me, the renewal took less than 30 days door to door in August 2021, regular processing, had sent it to Irving TX.

You sent it directly to Irving, or that's where it ended up? Can we send directly to a center? Thanks.

No need to get excited.

Irving, TX is where routine applications from residents of CA, FL, IL, MN, NY, and TX should go. For the rest of the country it is Philly

https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...ort/renew.html

yes, the routine application was mailed to Irving, TX

10XXXXXXX
 

Hello, does someone have experience with the Boston office? Are they processing fast or slow?

I hope I don't get smacked for a topic drift, but is there a post with office locations based on locator number? Trying to locate 53. Search feature is not playing nice.
Here is what we got, regular processing submitted August 2nd to Philly Office. Checks cashed and processing August 23rd.

Twindad: 42 (New Orleans! The Big Easy! Have some gumbo)
Twinmom: 68 (New Hampshire. Hey! She wants granite countertops, perfect)
Twin1: 53 (cant find this one. Secret government research facility on twins?)
Twin2: 53 (well they are together, as usual. But where?)

I cant find any threads that tell me where 53 is.

We have a family competition on whose will get back first. We are not traveling till late December so pretty sure it will be by then, but a week of dog poop scooping is on the line for the last returned.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...76268ca408.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...84dc0623f.jpeg

d'oh! :-) Thanks. I'm good, thankfully both of ours came.

Our passport cards arrived yesterday 9/2, a couple days after the passports. Now just need our old passports back and we'll be all set.

Thanks! 53 is Seattle, about an hour away from us. The twins might win this one!

2 Passport renewal routine service ( New York )
1 minor passport routine service done at post office

*My Renewal /Routine Service
Mailed in : August 12th
Delivered as per Usps tracking: August 16th
In process: August 27th
Locator #: 14 ( first 2 digit )
Approved : ???
Shipped : September 3rd
Estimated delivery: September 7th ( Usps tracking #)

I really didn’t expect routine service to be less than a month !

* My mom Renewal / Routine service
Mailed in : August 12th
Delivered as per Usps tracking: August 16th
In process: August 27th
Locator #: 14 ( first 2 digit )
Approved : September 3rd 2021
Shipped : not yet ( says printing)
Estimated delivery: September 11th 2021

* My son passport was done at the post office same day ( August 12th) .

*My son ( minor)
Post office application
Delivered : don’t know
In process: August 26th
Locator #: 34 ( first 2 digit )
Approved :
Shipped :
Estimated delivery:

Reporting my experience making an urgent in-person passport appointment in San Francisco (for which you have to call within two weeks), with international travel on Sept 17. Had to call four times before the system was willing to put me into the queue to speak to someone. After 50 minutes on hold, I got an agent who offered me appointment slots on the 15th or 16th. I was skeptical there would actually be an appointment available, but there was!

Wow, you are so lucky. I submitted my passport application (expedited) on 8/17, it shows as in process since 8/24. My work meeting has been moved up to 10/3, so I contacted my congressman on 9/1. Since then, no update...

My wife's passport arrived today via Priority Mail, one day short of five weeks. The USPS envelope had a Portsmouth, NH return address. When I enter the tracking number in the post office's system, the earliest date benchmark is yesterday, which was a sorting facility about six miles from my local post office. Nonetheless, no complaints about the processing time, which from reviewing the last month's posts in this thread seems to be about the mean for those who used expedited service and round-trip Priority Mail.

It's possible that an urgent trip might be coming up for me. If I do elect to contact my rep and senators, which info should include initially aside from travel date, name, DOB and locator number? Don't know if I'll be comfortable including my SSN in an email unless they contact me and I give it to them verbally, or if it'll be needed at all.

The assistance forms I’ve seen over the years do include a field for SSN, but I also know that they have assisted Americans with passport facilitation even when the US passport applicants don’t/didn’t have an SSN or left the SSN field blank.

Here is a sample assistance release form: https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/sites/...orm%202021.pdf