My previous Swiss passport had a polycarbonate page that lasted 10 years with no problem. I did keep it in a pouch, and didn't carry it in my pocket though.

If I travel with an NGP passport like I have done with some of my ordinary full duration US passports then it’s likely I will eventually get hit with some kind of problem because of a different damage risk profile for the NGP version than for the legacy version.

I deliberately did what I could to maximize my own chance of getting a legacy version when I did. I don’t know if NGPs are now a higher proportion of new US passports issued than they were at the start of the year, but both versions are still being sent out.

Applied online for adult renewal, routine processing (but did enter my scheduled November trip).

Applied: July 14
In Process: July 15
Shipped: July 28

Received a NGP. Don’t really understand why they have the picture quality so low but it is what it is.

Daughter turned 18 and renewal status
 

Daughter has had 4 passports so far and she turned 18 in June and latest passport expires Jan 2023. So we applied for renewal and this would be her first adult passport.

June 15 - Applied at local library. Gave her birth certificate and current passport. They said they need BC again.. not sure why but maybe cos it's first adult.

June 21 - Checks cashed and got online tracking

July 30 - Still IN PROCESS. Since its not expedited, timeframe is 8 to 11 weeks.

Jun.15 printed then mailed out passport renewal application via USPS Priority to the Irving,TX address. Routine delivery, expanded 52-pager requested.
Jun.18 tracking number showed delivered.
Jun.27 email received from State Dept that application was received Jun.21 and in process. Locator number starts with 69. They cashed my check Jun.22.
Jul.30 email received from State Dept that application is approved as of Jul.30 and I should receive passport on or around Aug.6.
I'll update this post when I receive my new passport. A lot shorter than the 8-11 week estimate.

Whoa, they're actually sending emails again?

Received passport today Aug.3, it was the older style passport. Waiting for my old passport in the mail.

Quick question here. I have a trip in ~3 weeks and need to renew. Has anyone had experience booking a refundable flight to get an earlier urgent renewal appointment and then canceling the flight before the appointment and presenting the actual flight then? The later flight would still be within 2 weeks of the appointment date but since the destination mentioned on the phone and on the itinerary when you show up are different I worry this could cause issues. Do they care?

Adult renewal with expedited processing and 1-2 day delivery.

July 11 - Mailed to Philadelphia
July 13 - In process
August 3 - Approved email
August 4 - Delivered.

I received a 52 page old style passport.

I know that the use of refundable tickets to land appointment spots has been done for decades.

I also know that a change of dates or travel plans that remain within the two week window hasn’t generally led to systematic refusals to continue to process applications.

AFAIK, there still is no general checking to make sure a phone-call-mentioned destination is and remains the same as that which ultimately ends up being the destination for which the urgent application is submitted and its resulting passport is used. Travel destinations and dates can change for a variety of reasons between making the appointment and showing up for the appointments.

Daughter got an email yesterday that they received her application on June 21. No other update on site. ..LOL

Adult Renewal Mailed From Canada. Expedited Service.

Application sent via Canada Post on July 25th.
Arrived in Philadelphia on July 30th per tracking.
August 1st status showed as in process.
August 11 AM showed as approved.
August 11 PM now shows as mailed with an estimated arrival date of August 21.

Thanks for the data point, and welcome to FT!

Daughter got email that the state department has APPROVED the new passport

Daughter turned 18 and renewal status
Daughter has had 4 passports so far and she turned 18 in June and latest passport expires Jan 2023. So we applied for renewal and this would be her first adult passport.

June 15 - Applied at local library. Gave her birth certificate and current passport. They said they need BC again.. not sure why but maybe cos it's first adult.

June 21 - Checks cashed and got online tracking

July 30 - Still IN PROCESS. Since its not expedited, timeframe is 8 to 11 weeks.

Aug 10 - Daughter got email that they received her renewal application on June 21

Aug 12 - Daughter got email state department has approved her application

Apr 13 - Daughter got email her new passport is shipped from Tuszon AZ office. Delivery scheduled for Monday 8/15

Apr 15 - Daughter received the new Passport (NGP). She went ahead and updated her Global Entry successfully with new passport details.

Two new passports for Mr and Ms Tivv, both expedited processing, priority mail:
Jul 23 - Mr Tivv application submitted
Jul 26 - Ms Tivv application submitted
Jul 28 - Mr Tivv application in process (still in this state by Aug 15)
Aug 1 - Ms Tivv application in process
Aug 9 - Ms Tivv passport issued date
Aug 10 - Ms Tivv application approved & shipped
Aug 11 - Ms Tivv priority mail accepted in TUCSON, AZ
Aug 12 - Ms Tivv passport book delivered, large book, new design.
Aug 15 - Ms Tivv passport card delivered, regular mail
Mr Tivv is still waiting :(
To add:
Ms Tivv locator number starts with 69 and it corresponds to the passport card return address of Portsmouth, NH
Mr Tivv locator number starts with 75

Do we currently have a list/idea for which offices/codes are printing the next gen?

It appears that all standard books sent out of Tucson are next gen.

Helped brother apply for a new passport. His passport book was expired (but within 5 years of expiration), so he had to DS-64 the passport card and apply for a new book + card in-person using DS-11 at an acceptance facility (post office). Application was routine service (and also standard non-expedited shipping.)

Applied: July 28 2022
In Process: August 5th 2022
Approved: August 18th 2022 (today)
Status tracker says expected delivery "on or around 08/24/2022".
Exact arrival date: Aug 22 2022

Standard book, nextgen.

Prior posts here made it seem like the State dept was very much ahead of the promised processing deadlines, when I helped him out I did not expect it to be approved (with an estimated arrival date) door to door of just under 4 weeks...

Her application wouldn't have been renewal because you can only use form DS-82 to renew a passport if it was issued within the last 15 years AND it was issued when the applicant was age 16 or older. Since her last passport would have been issued before she was age 16 (unless you renewed it extremely early), the application is the in-person DS-11 form like a first passport which requires presenting proof of citizenship.

Even expired US passports may be accepted as proof of US citizenship, and current US passports can be accepted as proof of citizenship.

Renewal for me expedited to Philadelphia USPS 2 day
Sent on 08/01
Accepted 08/05
Approved today 08/19
Overnight return shipping back says I should receive on or around 08/21.

Update:
Aug 12 Mr Tivv passport issue date
Aug 16 Mr Tivv approved
Aug 17 Mr Tivv priority mail accepted in Hot Springs National Park, AR, 71913
Aug 18 Mr Tivv passport book delivered, old design

Expedited Renewal
Aug 1 expedited renewal forms sent via Express mail to Philadelphia Passport office with payment for Express Mail return
Aug 4 status showed in process
Aug 19 new passport was delivered to Sarasota FL
old design

as noted in #2055 post my daughter for the new format passport (NGP). I see most guys ^ get the old format. Any reason why the difference and why not everyone is getting the new NGP passport?

NGPs aren't the standard passport yet. The latest news was that they'll be exclusively issued in August 2022 but that doesn't seem to be the case yet.

Received August 24 in Canada, Next Gen.

Double post

Obvious August 2022 won’t happen. As has been the case for years now, the Department of State can’t quite get this program off the ground. Incompetence the cause? 🤷‍♂️ There has been no recent news as to timelines, with the last update back in March (suggesting August would be the switch over point). So who knows when the full switch over to next generation passports will happen. As of now, most passport issuances are the older epassport versions.

If they boost the speed of a full transition to only NGP type passports, the costs would skyrocket even faster for us applicants — both financially and in terms of time to get a valid passport back.

Given the long set “user fee” mentality — set in by quasi/faux”-budget hawks” — that is had when it comes to providing services such as US passports, this is the result. “Starve the (federal government) beast” this way has its consequences. And personally, I don’t see any downside to still getting the legacy generation version of the US passport.

Don’t agree. DoS has witnessed large budget increases of late. And consular services in particular got rather large increases. It is taking nearly ten years to roll this program out where less developed countries are taking a few short years to launch. There has been massive schedule slippage. Some European countries redesign their polycarbonate passports every 5 years. A far better explanation is just serial incompetence, lack of proper program oversight and accountability.

The “user fee” mentality in the US is the big factor in why the US passport application situation is what it is. The European countries in which I’ve had more recent involvement haven’t had the same long lasting affinity to the user fee mentality for passports that plagues US passport issues, so if they want to blow their money on more frequent redesigns and limit validity to 5 and 3 years as much as they do, they can eat it as far as I’m concerned. In the case of the US, we the more common US passport fee paying applicants are the ones who get hit faster and more with cost increases when massive schedule slippages don’t happen and thereby fail to act as a sort of restraint on inflation. The slower the transition the better it is for me.

any idea when the nextgen passport will actually rollout in full? That is, widely available?

We have travel planned to Sweden and the UK in late November and just realized our 2 under-16 year old kids passports expire in early January. It seems UK only requires the passport to be valid during our stay, but Sweden requires 90 days validity, which we won't meet.

Since the kids are under 16, I can't find a single post office with an appointment near me over the next couple of weeks, and am concerned that if we find an appointment in mid-September or later, the renewals won't be processed in time for our trip.

Any ideas on how we might best go about this?

Several options:


Safest route:
1) When there are less than 14 days before the trip, get an emergency appointment at a passport center. Or line up and wait. They should be able to do everything same day.

and/or

2) Contact Swedish Embassy/consulate near you. Explain the circumstances and also include the fact that Covid disruptions have made it difficult impossible to get their passports done in time, explaining that you will still leave far before the passports expire. IF they say it is ok, then that letter/e-mail should be enough for the airline, and will def be good enough for Swedish passport control.

If you are brave, and know what you are doing.

3) Go to a notary and make a notarized signed statement (for the airline) saying that you do know that your kid's passports have less than 90 days of validity BUT you all still want to fly and you will not seek compensation and will hold the airline NOT RESPONSIBLE for any costs should you be denied entry into Sweden. Ultimately this is all airlines care about, which is ultimately the cost of returning you and a possible fine. In my experience Swedish passport control will care less, especially as Swedes can travel to the US up until the day their passports expire I believe. Again, this is the brave route that I only follow when I am very familiar with a country and their "rules" on the ground, otherwise you are opening yourself up to potential serious costs.

Double-check with several of the acceptance locations near you — there might be a USPS Passport Mega Center, or a non-USPS location (eg a university or court clerk), that takes walk-ins. I posted above about some examples in the Atlanta metro area. Expect a significant wait most places that take walk-ins, but probably worth it in your situation.
https://iafdb.travel.state.gov/

Even if you can’t submit the applications until mid-Sept, my gut says if you don’t mind paying the expedite fee, you might be okay — most of the recent data points in this thread suggest 3-4 week expedited turnaround, and in fact, it seems like your time frame even falls within the official (conservative) estimate of 5-7 weeks. Also, having an application already submitted wouldn’t preclude calling in for an agency appointment 14 days before departure, and/or contacting your Congressperson for an extra nudge, if that’s necessary when the time comes.

Final update:
Mr Tivv passport card delivered, return address St. Albans, VT 05478
Mr Tivv original document received Aug 23, return address Sterling, VA 20166-1171. I did not capture postal stamp zip code
Ms Tivv original document received Aug 25,return address Sterling, VA 20166-1171. postal stamp zip code 03801 (Portsmouth, NH).

My general impression is that orignal document return address means nothing, but passport card return address & original document postal stamp zip code are from the passport agency used.
So 75 locator number seems to correspond to St Albans, VT 05478. Google says that a new passport agency.

I'd recommend you to look for non-USPS location in your area using https://iafdb.travel.state.gov/. Those are less known and sometimes it's easier to find advance appointments or same/next day appointments appearing due to cancelations. E.g. I was able to find a nice agency that is part of a university sports center. They register students into the sports center and do passports at the same time :). With it I was able to secure 2 next day appointments and get my passports really fast. And no lines at all - 10 minute in-out time.

Cal (UC Berkeley) has a passport acceptance center in the sports / rec department. https://recsports.berkeley.edu/u-s-passports/

They let non-UC people in to use it?

David