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)
Aug 4, 2017, 9:23 am
#91
Moderator: Avianca, Travel Photography, Travel Technology & USA
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A reminder, this thread is about the American passport wait. A comparative to another country is of passing interest, but should not be a core discussion or a path to an Omni-esque debate.
Aug 14, 2017, 1:09 pm
#92
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 1
My experience with passport renewal (still in progress) differs significantly from those recently reported in this thread. Last July 21 I sent in a DS-82 renewal, submitting an up-to-date photo with a freshly expired passport, and requested a 52-page book and photocard. When I had heard nothing by August 12 (last Saturday), I checked online, where my application had a locator ID but no information on where it was in the process. I also haven't received any emails advising me of application status.
A few hours ago (today, August 14), I called the National Passport Center and was informed my application had entered the system on July 26 and was with the Washington passport office. (I had mailed it to Philadelphia, which is the designated reception point for Kansas residents.) As of the time I called, neither the new passport book nor the card had been mailed to me. I ended up paying $75.45 by credit card to have my application expedited, since I am leaving on August 22 for a driving trip that involves a crossing of the Canadian border on August 25.
I am not sure why my application is so delayed compared to others'; I have had no name changes, and although I did not specify travel dates on the application, I have applied in the past without travel dates and still had a three-week turnaround with routine processing. There were three main differences this time around: in 2007 I applied just for a regular-sized book through the US Embassy in London using DS-82 filled out using the free-text function in 'Acrobat', while in 2017 I applied domestically for both an extra-large book and a card, using the State Department Web form to autogenerate a PDF (which changes lowercase email addresses to all-uppercase).
I actually had DS-82 ready last March but procrastinated because my initial plan was to take my own passport pictures, with the help of a friend, using an improvised home studio setup. I had had to do this back in 2007 since I was living in Britain, where passport photo standards are not compatible with US ones, and I felt the DIY process (with the help of 'Photoshop') resulted in better photos at lower out-of-pocket cost (35c for two 2" x 2" photos cut out of a single 3" x 5" print with scissors, Exacto knife, or lever-arm paper cutter, versus $15 for two prints from Walgreens or a competing drugstore with photofinishing services). However, I never got around to this project because my current house lacks a well-lit bare wall painted in a light solid color to serve as a backdrop.
My advice to anyone similarly situated, with a tendency to make the perfect the enemy of the good, is to get the complete package sans photo ready to go (envelope, old passport, DS-82 filled out with date and signature, and check or money order), and then allow just one week to obtain DIY photos. If the week passes with no progress, then if the Walgreens near me is typical, you should be able to walk in with $15 and walk out less than an hour later with two photos that meet the State Department's size, pose, and illumination requirements. If your passport photo shows you with bed hair or suggests you are in the final stages of meth addiction, that is still better than paying half again to double the routine-processing rate for current and universally accepted proof of identity and citizenship. It also leaves fewer opportunities for mishap to have passport already in hand than to try to coordinate renewal with other travel planning.
A few hours ago (today, August 14), I called the National Passport Center and was informed my application had entered the system on July 26 and was with the Washington passport office. (I had mailed it to Philadelphia, which is the designated reception point for Kansas residents.) As of the time I called, neither the new passport book nor the card had been mailed to me. I ended up paying $75.45 by credit card to have my application expedited, since I am leaving on August 22 for a driving trip that involves a crossing of the Canadian border on August 25.
I am not sure why my application is so delayed compared to others'; I have had no name changes, and although I did not specify travel dates on the application, I have applied in the past without travel dates and still had a three-week turnaround with routine processing. There were three main differences this time around: in 2007 I applied just for a regular-sized book through the US Embassy in London using DS-82 filled out using the free-text function in 'Acrobat', while in 2017 I applied domestically for both an extra-large book and a card, using the State Department Web form to autogenerate a PDF (which changes lowercase email addresses to all-uppercase).
I actually had DS-82 ready last March but procrastinated because my initial plan was to take my own passport pictures, with the help of a friend, using an improvised home studio setup. I had had to do this back in 2007 since I was living in Britain, where passport photo standards are not compatible with US ones, and I felt the DIY process (with the help of 'Photoshop') resulted in better photos at lower out-of-pocket cost (35c for two 2" x 2" photos cut out of a single 3" x 5" print with scissors, Exacto knife, or lever-arm paper cutter, versus $15 for two prints from Walgreens or a competing drugstore with photofinishing services). However, I never got around to this project because my current house lacks a well-lit bare wall painted in a light solid color to serve as a backdrop.
My advice to anyone similarly situated, with a tendency to make the perfect the enemy of the good, is to get the complete package sans photo ready to go (envelope, old passport, DS-82 filled out with date and signature, and check or money order), and then allow just one week to obtain DIY photos. If the week passes with no progress, then if the Walgreens near me is typical, you should be able to walk in with $15 and walk out less than an hour later with two photos that meet the State Department's size, pose, and illumination requirements. If your passport photo shows you with bed hair or suggests you are in the final stages of meth addiction, that is still better than paying half again to double the routine-processing rate for current and universally accepted proof of identity and citizenship. It also leaves fewer opportunities for mishap to have passport already in hand than to try to coordinate renewal with other travel planning.
Aug 25, 2017, 6:13 pm
#93
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,586
Another data point:
I received my renewal passport just 14 days after I mailed the renewal application via regular mail (70 cents postage), with standard processing. Mailed from upstate New York to Irving, Texas, on August 11; my check for the processing fee was paid by my bank on August 16; new passport was issued on August 22, and mailed via Priority Mail from Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, on August 23; received new passport today (August 25).
Kudos to the USPS and the Passport Office!
I received my renewal passport just 14 days after I mailed the renewal application via regular mail (70 cents postage), with standard processing. Mailed from upstate New York to Irving, Texas, on August 11; my check for the processing fee was paid by my bank on August 16; new passport was issued on August 22, and mailed via Priority Mail from Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, on August 23; received new passport today (August 25).
Kudos to the USPS and the Passport Office!
Aug 27, 2017, 10:19 am
#94
Suspended
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Posts: 102,095
Another data point:
I received my renewal passport just 14 days after I mailed the renewal application via regular mail (70 cents postage), with standard processing. Mailed from upstate New York to Irving, Texas, on August 11; my check for the processing fee was paid by my bank on August 16; new passport was issued on August 22, and mailed via Priority Mail from Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, on August 23; received new passport today (August 25).
Kudos to the USPS and the Passport Office!
I received my renewal passport just 14 days after I mailed the renewal application via regular mail (70 cents postage), with standard processing. Mailed from upstate New York to Irving, Texas, on August 11; my check for the processing fee was paid by my bank on August 16; new passport was issued on August 22, and mailed via Priority Mail from Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, on August 23; received new passport today (August 25).
Kudos to the USPS and the Passport Office!
For most of the year, I wouldn't recommend paying for expedited service unless needing to use the passport before 3 weeks from renewal application.
Aug 27, 2017, 5:29 pm
#95
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Truth or Consequences, NM
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott Titanium, Hertz President's Circle, UA Silver, Mobile Passport Unobtanium
Posts: 6,193
Another data point:
I received my renewal passport just 14 days after I mailed the renewal application via regular mail (70 cents postage), with standard processing. Mailed from upstate New York to Irving, Texas, on August 11; my check for the processing fee was paid by my bank on August 16; new passport was issued on August 22, and mailed via Priority Mail from Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, on August 23; received new passport today (August 25).
Kudos to the USPS and the Passport Office!
I received my renewal passport just 14 days after I mailed the renewal application via regular mail (70 cents postage), with standard processing. Mailed from upstate New York to Irving, Texas, on August 11; my check for the processing fee was paid by my bank on August 16; new passport was issued on August 22, and mailed via Priority Mail from Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, on August 23; received new passport today (August 25).
Kudos to the USPS and the Passport Office!
I mailed my renewal last Saturday and my check was cashed on Tuesday. Be interesting to see if my passport is generated from Hot Springs, AR also.
Aug 28, 2017, 3:06 am
#96
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Mailed via is not necessarily the same thing as being generated at, but what you may find is interesting is that it goes that way.
Sep 1, 2017, 11:05 am
#98
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 15,347
A friend of mine flying with his family and realizing that his minor sons passport was about to expire, and they were flying the same day managed to get it done recently at the NY passport office in just under 4 hours all-in.
Sep 6, 2017, 9:27 pm
#99
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Truth or Consequences, NM
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Posts: 6,193
Application mailed to Irving, TX on 19 August.
Passport received from Portsmouth, NH on 5 September.
Still waiting for passport card.
Passport received from Portsmouth, NH on 5 September.
Still waiting for passport card.
Oct 13, 2017, 2:59 pm
#102
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 97
I mailed mine Oct 2 to Philly, received notification it was received/processing Oct 6 and alerted it was mailed Oct 11. I just received it today. It has a return address of NH on the envelope but online USPS indicates it was mailed from Little Rock, AR. The design is the same. Still hoping I receive my old one at some point.
Oct 23, 2017, 11:23 pm
#105
Moderator Hilton Honors, Travel News, West, The Suggestion Box, Smoking Lounge & DiningBuzz
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Posts: 36,027
Put my renewal in the mail on 14 October. Got an email a little while ago that says it will be delivered on 26 October. Tracking says its coming from Hot Springs, Arkansas.