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)
Jan 3, 2021 | 9:59 am
#841
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 519
You mean it took 1 hour and 45 minutes between showing up for the appointment to submit an application and having the new passport in hand? That's within the realm of outcomes from decent routine.
[If I got a new ordinary full-duration passport in hand 1.45 min after giving in my application, I would say that something went wrong.]
[If I got a new ordinary full-duration passport in hand 1.45 min after giving in my application, I would say that something went wrong.]
Jan 3, 2021 | 3:10 pm
#843
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
Yes.
It seems to be what I would see at times for expedited in person -- more so if it's split over the hours before/after lunch time during a period when international travel demand is way down and those who are still traveling internationally are most likely to already have a passport used for international travel within the 12 months prior and thus not need a rushed passport renewal/replacement.
It seems to be what I would see at times for expedited in person -- more so if it's split over the hours before/after lunch time during a period when international travel demand is way down and those who are still traveling internationally are most likely to already have a passport used for international travel within the 12 months prior and thus not need a rushed passport renewal/replacement.
Jan 3, 2021 | 3:57 pm
#844
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 24,766
Their locations and the procedure to to apply for a passport are described in this US State Department webpage:
Jan 5, 2021 | 2:53 pm
#845
Join Date: Jan 2021
Location: CA, USA
Posts: 2
10/26/20 - Mailed passport renewal to TX facility with standard processing time (quoted 10-12 weeks), used 2-Day Priority Mail envelope.
10/30/20 - Envelope delivered in TX (delivery likely delayed due to volume of election mail at the same time).
11/02/20 - Check cashed by State Department.
11/03/20 - Application status updated to "In Process" on State Department website.
12/21/20 - Called State Department 1-800 number to get my passport faster. I was on hold for 55 minutes before reaching a representative, who took down my credit card info to expedite my application. I provided a travel date of 01/20/21.
12/29/30 - Credit card charged $77.13 to expedite ($60 expedite fee and $17.13 for 1-2 day shipping).
12/31/30 - Received an email from the State Department that my application was approved.
01/04/21 - Passport picked up by USPS in Tucson, AZ. Mailed via Priority Mail Express.
01/05/21 - Delivered to me in CA!
10/30/20 - Envelope delivered in TX (delivery likely delayed due to volume of election mail at the same time).
11/02/20 - Check cashed by State Department.
11/03/20 - Application status updated to "In Process" on State Department website.
12/21/20 - Called State Department 1-800 number to get my passport faster. I was on hold for 55 minutes before reaching a representative, who took down my credit card info to expedite my application. I provided a travel date of 01/20/21.
12/29/30 - Credit card charged $77.13 to expedite ($60 expedite fee and $17.13 for 1-2 day shipping).
12/31/30 - Received an email from the State Department that my application was approved.
01/04/21 - Passport picked up by USPS in Tucson, AZ. Mailed via Priority Mail Express.
01/05/21 - Delivered to me in CA!
Jan 5, 2021 | 8:08 pm
#846
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: AF/KL Platinum, AA Platinum Pro
Posts: 255
Adding another data point:
11/23/20 - Sent my old passport and renewal application plus check to Philadelphia processing center. Opted for expedited service and overnight delivery.
11/30/20 - Application "In Process" on State Dept website.
12/4/20 - Check cashed by State Dept
1/4/21 - Got email that application was approved and passport to be printed shortly. Later that day I got a USPS tracker
1/5/21 - Delivered and received here in NYC. Passport issue date was 1/4/21.
1/25/21 - Passport card delivered.
Originally planned to be away week of Christmas to New Years hence why I opted for expedited service. However, I cancelled the ticket in mid-December when I heard of the new strain and overall rise in covid and instead opted to stay home over the holidays.
In it they said I'll receive my passport card and old passport at a later date which is ok.
11/23/20 - Sent my old passport and renewal application plus check to Philadelphia processing center. Opted for expedited service and overnight delivery.
11/30/20 - Application "In Process" on State Dept website.
12/4/20 - Check cashed by State Dept
1/4/21 - Got email that application was approved and passport to be printed shortly. Later that day I got a USPS tracker
1/5/21 - Delivered and received here in NYC. Passport issue date was 1/4/21.
1/25/21 - Passport card delivered.
Originally planned to be away week of Christmas to New Years hence why I opted for expedited service. However, I cancelled the ticket in mid-December when I heard of the new strain and overall rise in covid and instead opted to stay home over the holidays.
In it they said I'll receive my passport card and old passport at a later date which is ok.
Last edited by trigleek; Jan 25, 2021 at 9:48 pm
Jan 6, 2021 | 8:27 pm
#847
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: PHL
Programs: AA, SPG
Posts: 27
Jan 6, 2021 | 10:07 pm
#848
Join Date: Jan 2021
Posts: 1
Finally got our passports:
23-Nov-2020 - Filed 2x expedited passport applications at USPS w/ all the fastest bells & whistles options.
30-Nov-2020 - Accepted at Passport Facility (they went to the National Passport Center in NH)
05-Jan-2021 - Approved (36 days after acceptance... 43 days after submitting at USPS).
07-Jan-2021 - Scheduled for delivery tomorrow.
23-Nov-2020 - Filed 2x expedited passport applications at USPS w/ all the fastest bells & whistles options.
30-Nov-2020 - Accepted at Passport Facility (they went to the National Passport Center in NH)
05-Jan-2021 - Approved (36 days after acceptance... 43 days after submitting at USPS).
07-Jan-2021 - Scheduled for delivery tomorrow.
Jan 7, 2021 | 8:24 am
#850
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: The Land of Pleasant Living
Programs: Marriott Ambassador, AA ExecPlat, Amtrak Select Exec, former WN apologist
Posts: 1,936
All these posts are making me a little nervous. I sent in mid-November for routine processing, planning to travel mid-March. Guess I will just sit with my fingers crossed for a while...
Jan 7, 2021 | 9:05 am
#851
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
I wouldn't suggest worrying about this at all unless you don't have the passport before around the 15-20th of February.
Jan 9, 2021 | 2:48 pm
#853
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: SEA
Programs: UA 1P 1MM, Marriott Titanium/LT Platinum, Hyatt Discoverist, IHG Platinum
Posts: 722
Surprisingly fast turnaround on regular service (was expecting 8-12 weeks based on reports).
Here’s the timeline:
Here’s the timeline:
- Dec 16: Applied at local USPS - regular service with paid courier return service
- Dec 23: Fee check cashed
- Jan 09: New passport received
Jan 9, 2021 | 3:22 pm
#854
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,810
Great news. How did you apply at USPS? Was it a new passport instead of renewal?
Jan 9, 2021 | 8:09 pm
#855
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: SEA
Programs: UA 1P 1MM, Marriott Titanium/LT Platinum, Hyatt Discoverist, IHG Platinum
Posts: 722
Setup an appointment using the online form on USPS site (a couple of weeks lead time so it was probably late Nov/early Dec when it was setup). Renewal for a family member applying as an adult for the first time so mail in wasnt an option.