I’m in a bit of a panic. I have international travel booked for March 16th.

I renewed / rushed my passport and overnighted the application awhile back. They delayed action on it, then:

Feb 16 they deposited the check and said processing.

I leave in 23 days. I checked my local passport office (Chicago) and they say there are no rush appointments available. What is my recourse / options? I’m visiting American citizens living in the third world that are desperate to get their medicine and basic essentials. I really need to get on that flight.

Sad thing is, my passport was still valid but didn’t have six months remaining before expiration so I was told it was not acceptable to travel to the nation I’m heading to.

I'd try describing the situation to the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778. There might be a long hold time. They were friendly and didn't make guarantees but my passport was sent within 2 days of calling.

01/21 - usps appointment for a 1st time application for my 1 year old baby - expedited - our internacional trip in on March 3rd
01/29 - in process
02/16 - contacted state rep., And I called the passport agency and upgraded to overnight delivery
02/22 - state rep sent email telling me that the passport had been approved, and that same night at around 9pm the status online changed to approved
It says that I should receive the passport book and card on or around 02/25, but status hasn't changed to shipped as of yet (today is 02/23)

my question is: how long until I receive back the birth certificate that I sent with the application? At this point the birth certificate is more crucial than the passport itself

Don't worry i it hasn't changed passed approved. My family member just got both their passport and supporting docs on Monday after approval the previous Thursday (and it still just says approved online). Since you overnighted the passport return but the support docs will not be overnighted you'll probably get the birth certificate a couple days after.

Thank you very much for the info!!! I'm just hoping the docs arrive until Monday

Hello,
This is pretty crazy because I submitted mine on the 27th of Jan. With a trip planned for March 3rd as well. I'm waiting on the status change to approved and shipped all within these next few days, I'm so stressed out about it! I've been calling and bugging the call center people with random questions and status updates. I'm express shipping to, so the moment that status changes to Mailed, I should expect within those next 2 days. Agh!

I recommend that you get in touch with your state representative, they are very helpful in this situation
And btw the passport had been approved and yesterday I received an email saying it was shipped and with tracking number, and today I received an email saying it was approved, again? I checked the tracking number and the label was created 2 days ago but ups doesn't have the package yet. So weird, I'm so stressed out

Expedited Passport
 

Paid for expedited processing and shipping. Applied for passport on 1/20...arrived at the Philidelphia location on 1/22...wasn't acknowledged by the agency as being received until 1/28...based on what I read from other people, this seems normal. On 1/28 the status was "In process". Called around 2/17 to check the status and also provide the representative with a travel date...which I hadn't done when I filled out the application. I feel like calling and providing the travel date helped speed things up. On 2/23 the status changed to "Approved". Received an email with an expected delivery date of 2/26. From the day I applied to the day I will receive the passport it's taken about 5 1/2 weeks. My travel date is March 10th. I applied 7 weeks in advance. To be honest, I was getting very nervous. If I could do it over, I would've applied at least 8-9 weeks in advance, even with the expedited processing/shipping.

Passport card renewal: Certified mail to Irving, TX went out on Mon 1/25, delivered on Mon 2/22 morning!
Got confirmation e-mail from [email protected] Wed 2/24 morning.
The check will be deducted from my bank account on Wed 2/24.

Hope
 

This gives me some hope. I sent my passport out on 1/27 from Ohio to Philadelphia. I have gotten no updates yet. I am trying to give it till the first week of March before I contact someone.

Did you end up getting the email stating it was shipped and if so when did it come? Mine was approved today but I haven't received the shipped email yet.

My wife had her status change to approved after it was mailed but they said it was a computer glitch. Did your passport get picked up yet?

2/13/21 12:37 pm - I sent my US Passport and Passport Card Renewal to Irving TX via USPS Priority Mail ( $7.95 ) to be delivered on 2/17/21.`
2/17/21 - USPS reports shipment is Delayed ( probably due to Texas Weather and Power Issues ).
2/22/21 4:26 pm - USPS reports that the Passport and Passport Card Renewal is at the PO Box - Available for Pickup.
2/23/21 5:26 am - USPS reports that the Passport and Passport Card Renewal is Delivered.
2/24/21 8:09 pm - An email from [email protected] reporting that the Passport and Passport Card Renewal was received on 2/24/21 and is in Progress.
2/25/21 9:00 pm - My bank lists the $140 check to "U.S. Department of State"as pending.

Right now I'm waiting to hear from the USPS why my application left the USPS Philadelphia Distribution Center on the morning of February 8 but was apparently never delivered to the Passport Processing Center in Philadelphia. :mad:

QUESTION!!! Ok so I went into a post office today to apply for a passport. My question is... was I supposed to send in a photocopy and hard copy of my DL or just photocopy.. Help please!!