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 doesn’t 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 doesn’t match the list above, please add or correct.
Current US passport wait? (Merged Threads)
Jun 21, 2020, 10:59 am
#586
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,631
In The New York Times today:
How the Pandemic Has Affected Passports, Global Entry, T.S.A. PreCheck and More
Can I apply for or renew a U.S. passport now?
A backlog of 1.7 million passports has piled up since the State Department shut down most of its consular services to protect its workers on March 19, officials confirmed last week.
Fourteen passport processing centers have reopened for limited service as of Monday, June 15. Pending applications will be addressed on a first in, first out basis, beginning with the oldest applications received — some going back as far as February.
Officials have said they hope to process about 200,000 applications each week, but that it could take up to eight weeks — before even starting on the new applications — to cut through the backlog.
That means if you’re applying for a passport now, you should expect delays of at least two months, if not three or more.
A backlog of 1.7 million passports has piled up since the State Department shut down most of its consular services to protect its workers on March 19, officials confirmed last week.
Fourteen passport processing centers have reopened for limited service as of Monday, June 15. Pending applications will be addressed on a first in, first out basis, beginning with the oldest applications received — some going back as far as February.
Officials have said they hope to process about 200,000 applications each week, but that it could take up to eight weeks — before even starting on the new applications — to cut through the backlog.
That means if you’re applying for a passport now, you should expect delays of at least two months, if not three or more.
Jun 21, 2020, 12:43 pm
#587
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Singapore
Programs: OZ Diamond, BAEC Silver, Marriott Platinum, HH Gold
Posts: 515
I would like to apply for my daughter’s first passport (born May 2020) so as to be able to travel with her hopefully in October 2020.
As this would be technically a brand new passport application, as opposed to renewal, any chance that this type of applications for a first passport may be processed quicker than renewals of passports expiring say early 2021?
Anyone in the same boat by any chance?
As this would be technically a brand new passport application, as opposed to renewal, any chance that this type of applications for a first passport may be processed quicker than renewals of passports expiring say early 2021?
Anyone in the same boat by any chance?
Jun 21, 2020, 12:52 pm
#588
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 15,347
TWA884 - The backlog is what currently, 3 months? Maybe will be 4? I guarantee that those who put their applications in over the last 3 months will see at least that backlog as well as those who put them in now and for the next month or two. However I also envision that those putting in applications in September/October are not going to see any significant backlog. So again if my passport were expiring in December of January or later. especially in the current situation I would just wait it out. OTOH, for the life of me I would never ever do an application through the mail at the best of times, if in the US, I would just go and get it done same day within14 days of a trip, or just do it from abroad where in my experience it has ALWAYS taken less than 2 weeks, often less than a week.
Jun 21, 2020, 1:28 pm
#589
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,631
TWA884 - The backlog is what currently, 3 months? Maybe will be 4? I guarantee that those who put their applications in over the last 3 months will see at least that backlog as well as those who put them in now and for the next month or two. However I also envision that those putting in applications in September/October are not going to see any significant backlog. So again if my passport were expiring in December of January or later. especially in the current situation I would just wait it out. OTOH, for the life of me I would never ever do an application through the mail at the best of times, if in the US, I would just go and get it done same day within14 days of a trip, or just do it from abroad where in my experience it has ALWAYS taken less than 2 weeks, often less than a week.
FWIIW, except for the time which I applied for my very first US passport, which had to be done in person, and one time, when my daughter's and mine both expired at about the same time and she was still a child it was required to apply for her new passport in person, I have always applied for new passports by mail. I have never experienced a problem, the turnaround time was almost never longer than a couple of weeks. I do use Priority Mail with tracking and delivery confirmation to send in the application and the expiring passport, though, so that I can keep track of them.
Jun 21, 2020, 3:00 pm
#590
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: SFO
Posts: 4,914
Sometime between the 17th when I posted and today, the status checker online now shows: in process. Not to say it will be any faster, but at least between the time they received the application, they cashed the check and recorded it into the system, all within 10 days. Still hopeful by end of August if not earlier. First “planned” trip first week of October.
Jun 21, 2020, 5:53 pm
#591
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 15,347
I guess that it is just one of those things, those who regularly need their passport (meaning for example travel internationally let's say once or more per month) would never do a postal application as it is too variable - forget Covid, just read back on this and other threads about how there have been many times when mail-ins go wrong, and would regularly do what I suggest, do it in person at a center when one has less than 2 weeks before a trip, or do it abroad. OTOH many such people already have second passports which they can checkerboard against the first passport dates to ensure that they are never short.
BTW you are essentially looking not only at the backlog, but also additional "regular" traffic which unfortunately also tends to increase in the months and years after the turn of the decade? Why? 9/11 of course. As you may recall, it was after 9/11 that rules started to change obliging US citizens to have passports to travel everywhere, as you may recall prior to 9/11, US citizens could visit neighboring countries and most of the Caribbean WITHOUT a valid passport, this all started to be phased out after 9/11, and ultimately resulted in the amount of valid passports held by US citizens to eventually DOUBLE in numbers over the next decade (Europeans used to love quoting that "onl7 27% of Americans had passports" implying of course that no one traveled outside the US, when informed that US citizens - back then - could visit over 30 countries without a passport, they would grow quiet. Anyhow, while we are not at a "threshold" year yet, we will be soon, and people with a year or 2 left on their passports will start to renew them in the same vein as these posters in the middle of this trying to renew passports with 8 or 9 months on them.
BTW you are essentially looking not only at the backlog, but also additional "regular" traffic which unfortunately also tends to increase in the months and years after the turn of the decade? Why? 9/11 of course. As you may recall, it was after 9/11 that rules started to change obliging US citizens to have passports to travel everywhere, as you may recall prior to 9/11, US citizens could visit neighboring countries and most of the Caribbean WITHOUT a valid passport, this all started to be phased out after 9/11, and ultimately resulted in the amount of valid passports held by US citizens to eventually DOUBLE in numbers over the next decade (Europeans used to love quoting that "onl7 27% of Americans had passports" implying of course that no one traveled outside the US, when informed that US citizens - back then - could visit over 30 countries without a passport, they would grow quiet. Anyhow, while we are not at a "threshold" year yet, we will be soon, and people with a year or 2 left on their passports will start to renew them in the same vein as these posters in the middle of this trying to renew passports with 8 or 9 months on them.
Jun 22, 2020, 2:16 am
#592
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Some new passport applications have been processed and resulted in passports being issued even before the backlog has been cleared, despite whatever a USG website says.
The passport application backlogs won’t necessarily be run down entirely for quite some time this year, even within the next 8 weeks; nor will the backlog be necessarily reducing for each and every day/week change. It’s not going to be a perfectly smooth linear decline.
At some point again this year, passport applicants in the US will again have the option to pay for expedited service. If you can wait until September/October for in-person application and go for paid expedited service or apply outside of the US to get free expedited service, then that is what I would suggest doing.
I am with hfly’s suggestion to try to avoid submitting passport applications in the US via mail at this point if you can help it — and try to avoid it even more so if you don’t have enough documents retained to make an emergency/expedited application later this year if an application submitted now/earlier gets bungled.
Tracking numbers on mail/packages for passport applicants don’t always work (or get used) perfectly even in more normal times for US passport applicants, and nowadays process failures related to applications are likely to be substantially higher than typical including with regard to mail/courier and tracking numbers for such.
The backlog has been growing in parts even while there has been phased-in “openings”. And on top of the usual demand and that related to the 9/11+WHTI driven demand, there is also the on-year election-related demand for US passports.
The passport application backlogs won’t necessarily be run down entirely for quite some time this year, even within the next 8 weeks; nor will the backlog be necessarily reducing for each and every day/week change. It’s not going to be a perfectly smooth linear decline.
At some point again this year, passport applicants in the US will again have the option to pay for expedited service. If you can wait until September/October for in-person application and go for paid expedited service or apply outside of the US to get free expedited service, then that is what I would suggest doing.
I am with hfly’s suggestion to try to avoid submitting passport applications in the US via mail at this point if you can help it — and try to avoid it even more so if you don’t have enough documents retained to make an emergency/expedited application later this year if an application submitted now/earlier gets bungled.
Tracking numbers on mail/packages for passport applicants don’t always work (or get used) perfectly even in more normal times for US passport applicants, and nowadays process failures related to applications are likely to be substantially higher than typical including with regard to mail/courier and tracking numbers for such.
The backlog has been growing in parts even while there has been phased-in “openings”. And on top of the usual demand and that related to the 9/11+WHTI driven demand, there is also the on-year election-related demand for US passports.
Last edited by GUWonder; Jun 22, 2020 at 2:33 am
Jun 22, 2020, 6:55 am
#593
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: W29
Programs: It's Complicated...
Posts: 6,817
I went ahead and mailed mine in. It is expired at this point so no loss. If the agencies open up for non emergency processing and I want to go somewhere I will just apply again in person and have two.
Jun 22, 2020, 5:04 pm
#594
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 3
We sent ours in February also. They received February 24th. So we are hoping this means ours should update any day now (depending on what office has ours).
Jun 22, 2020, 9:35 pm
#595
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 201
I just checked it and yes, it does now say "Approved"
Jun 24, 2020, 7:59 pm
#597
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 1
just wanted to let everybody know details on our case:
applied in Chicago suburbs on Feb 26th for our son to renew his passport
Documents received on March 3rd
Today I finally got this email:
Application Status: Approved
The U.S. Department of State approved your application for your passport book. We're now printing your passport book and preparing to give it to you.
You requested routine service when you applied, which we are currently processing in 6-8 weeks. You should receive your passport book on or around 06/30/2020.
Your application locator number is 0000000.
If you are traveling within two weeks and have not received your passport, please contact the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778 (or TDD/TTY 1-888-874-7793) with your application locator number.
We almost lost the hope to get it back!!
applied in Chicago suburbs on Feb 26th for our son to renew his passport
Documents received on March 3rd
Today I finally got this email:
Application Status: Approved
The U.S. Department of State approved your application for your passport book. We're now printing your passport book and preparing to give it to you.
You requested routine service when you applied, which we are currently processing in 6-8 weeks. You should receive your passport book on or around 06/30/2020.
Your application locator number is 0000000.
If you are traveling within two weeks and have not received your passport, please contact the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778 (or TDD/TTY 1-888-874-7793) with your application locator number.
We almost lost the hope to get it back!!
Jun 24, 2020, 8:30 pm
#599
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: WAS (DCA, BWI, IAD)
Programs: AAdvantage EXP, Hyatt Diamond, SPG Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 114
Jun 24, 2020, 8:46 pm
#600
Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 6
02/19/2020 - Passport renewal application received (Philadelphia / Standard)
02/21/2020 - Check cashed
02/22/2020 - Passport application 'In Process' via website
04/30/2020 - I called and was told the application is still 'In Process'
05/20/2020 - Passport application 'In Process' via website
05/28/2020 - Passport application 'Not Found' via website
06/01/2020 - I called and was told 2 different things by the same CSR who refused to check my status.
Has anyone spoken to a CSR who got the same 'I won't check your status"?
Has anyone had their status changed to 'In Process' to 'Not Found' and actually had a good result?
TIA
02/21/2020 - Check cashed
02/22/2020 - Passport application 'In Process' via website
04/30/2020 - I called and was told the application is still 'In Process'
05/20/2020 - Passport application 'In Process' via website
05/28/2020 - Passport application 'Not Found' via website
06/01/2020 - I called and was told 2 different things by the same CSR who refused to check my status.
Has anyone spoken to a CSR who got the same 'I won't check your status"?
Has anyone had their status changed to 'In Process' to 'Not Found' and actually had a good result?
TIA
Door to door took over 4 months