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)
Mar 27, 2021 | 9:30 am
#1052
Join Date: Mar 2021
Posts: 3
I am also in the same boat as yours. Mailed my application using Priority mail and it took 12 days to be delivered (March 9th). I hthough the mail was lost until I opened up an inquiry with USPS. Before they could respond, my package was delivered. After that, there hasn't been any update from the passport processing center. Opened an inquiry with the Senators office yeaterday and this morning, I see that my application is in process. Took them two weeks to just put in process..now thats what I call a big delay. So 10-12 weeks from now, puts me in the June timeframe.
Feb 26 - mailed my application
March 9 - USPS delivers it
March 24 - application in process
Whats the current normal processing time for routine service? Not the official 10-12 weeks but how long does it take now?
Feb 26 - mailed my application
March 9 - USPS delivers it
March 24 - application in process
Whats the current normal processing time for routine service? Not the official 10-12 weeks but how long does it take now?
Hopefully this information helps others who are looking for answers.
I was against expedite processing but looking at the numerous delays in the process, I just settled for it. Remember, how much time we have to spend following up with senators, usps, passport office and the endless hours checking status on pp website. The anxiety is not worth it. My 2 cents!!
Mar 27, 2021 | 6:05 pm
#1053
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, this is the new version: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prad...001/index.html
Mar 28, 2021 | 9:17 pm
#1054
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 291
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prad...-per-type.html
Maybe the new version has only been issued to a happy few so far...
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prad...-per-type.html
Mar 29, 2021 | 5:04 am
#1055
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
It looks like the diplomatic passport clearly states diplomatic on the cover:
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prad...-per-type.html
Maybe the new version has only been issued to a happy few so far...
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prad...-per-type.html
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prad...-per-type.html
Maybe the new version has only been issued to a happy few so far...
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prad...-per-type.html
US Diplomatic passport blanks' OFC and OBC color are not blue in color nowadays and generally haven't been for quite some. They are black OFC and OBC, as the latter post's link more correctly labels the color. But the link supplied for the non-Diplomatic book has the passport OFC appear more like black than blue to my eyes even as it's labeled the color as blue. [I've handled a whole variety of passports over the years.]
I would be surprised if the idea was to have US Diplomatic passport blanks issued with the same OFC and OBC color as the ordinary US passport blanks being used for passports being sought by most people in this thread -- no less so when the description details on the links have the right color labels for what has been traditional.
Black isn't blue to my eyes, but the links you supplied above seem to have black and blue as both looking the same to my eyes regardless of how they label the color. Does it look different to you in terms of the color of the outside covers?
Mar 29, 2021 | 6:33 am
#1056
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Klagetoh
Posts: 24,130
I was commenting about the earlier post's link having the (ordinary) passport cover's color appearing to be black (rather than blue), but that site having the color labeled as "blue" even as it appeared as black to my eyes.
...
Black isn't blue to my eyes, but the links you supplied above seem to have black and blue as both looking the same to my eyes regardless of how they label the color. Does it look different to you in terms of the color of the outside covers?
...
Black isn't blue to my eyes, but the links you supplied above seem to have black and blue as both looking the same to my eyes regardless of how they label the color. Does it look different to you in terms of the color of the outside covers?
While I haven’t handled a whole lot of passports in my life but I have worked a bit with color models in both print publications and web design. Perceived color is a ‘slippery’ thing. When I look at something with only my right eye, I ‘see’ a slightly different hue than when I look at the same thing (under the same lighting conditions) with only my left. The perceived color (or colour) of scanned or photographed images presented on screen depends on a host of variables including lighting, the equipment used to capture the image, the equipment used to portray the image, settings applicable to both, the background context of the image, and the viewer’s ‘perception’ - my loose term for the rather complex interaction between the eyes and the brain.
The standard issue U.S. passport isn’t just ‘blue’, it’s ‘navy blue’. More like an indigo that in certain lighting conditions will appear to be closer to black. If a standard and a diplomatic passport were scanned on the same device at the same time, I daresay you would be able to perceive the differences in the two when looking at them side-by-side. Viewing either one, in isolation, against a white background, may well make the dark blue seem to look like black. Also, viewing the same objects under sunlight or even artificial ‘white light’ rather than on a screen would almost certainly reveal their color differences.
If you want to know more, look up ‘gamut’ as it applies to color reproduction and perception.
My brand new passport is definitely Navy Blue.
Mar 29, 2021 | 2:38 pm
#1057
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 291
The end
Quote:
Originally Posted by crescatfloreat View Post
I received an hour ago the approval email.
This is my timeline, unfortunately perhaps not very useful to anyone anymore, due to my mistake on the passport photo size.
12/30: Applied for a renewal for a 5 year old, at the US Post office, not expedited.
1/5: Request received according to online tracker.
2/9: "Processing" email received.
3/2: Received letter dated February 11th and mailed February 22nd about the incorrect size of the passport picture.
3/3: Sent correctly sized picture via regular mail to the Houston Agency at an address in Sterling, VA.
3/18: "Approval" email received.
New passport received today, March 23rd.
Issued date is March 16th.
It is the old model passport book, maybe because I requested the larger booklet.
The end... until the next saga -----
Mar 29, 2021 | 7:59 pm
#1059
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 291
I was commenting about the earlier post's link having the (ordinary) passport cover's color appearing to be black (rather than blue), but that site having the color labeled as "blue" even as it appeared as black to my eyes.
US Diplomatic passport blanks' OFC and OBC color are not blue in color nowadays and generally haven't been for quite some. They are black OFC and OBC, as the latter post's link more correctly labels the color. But the link supplied for the non-Diplomatic book has the passport OFC appear more like black than blue to my eyes even as it's labeled the color as blue. [I've handled a whole variety of passports over the years.]
I would be surprised if the idea was to have US Diplomatic passport blanks issued with the same OFC and OBC color as the ordinary US passport blanks being used for passports being sought by most people in this thread -- no less so when the description details on the links have the right color labels for what has been traditional.
Black isn't blue to my eyes, but the links you supplied above seem to have black and blue as both looking the same to my eyes regardless of how they label the color. Does it look different to you in terms of the color of the outside covers?
US Diplomatic passport blanks' OFC and OBC color are not blue in color nowadays and generally haven't been for quite some. They are black OFC and OBC, as the latter post's link more correctly labels the color. But the link supplied for the non-Diplomatic book has the passport OFC appear more like black than blue to my eyes even as it's labeled the color as blue. [I've handled a whole variety of passports over the years.]
I would be surprised if the idea was to have US Diplomatic passport blanks issued with the same OFC and OBC color as the ordinary US passport blanks being used for passports being sought by most people in this thread -- no less so when the description details on the links have the right color labels for what has been traditional.
Black isn't blue to my eyes, but the links you supplied above seem to have black and blue as both looking the same to my eyes regardless of how they label the color. Does it look different to you in terms of the color of the outside covers?
Somewhat off-topic, but...
While I haven’t handled a whole lot of passports in my life but I have worked a bit with color models in both print publications and web design. Perceived color is a ‘slippery’ thing. When I look at something with only my right eye, I ‘see’ a slightly different hue than when I look at the same thing (under the same lighting conditions) with only my left. The perceived color (or colour) of scanned or photographed images presented on screen depends on a host of variables including lighting, the equipment used to capture the image, the equipment used to portray the image, settings applicable to both, the background context of the image, and the viewer’s ‘perception’ - my loose term for the rather complex interaction between the eyes and the brain.
The standard issue U.S. passport isn’t just ‘blue’, it’s ‘navy blue’. More like an indigo that in certain lighting conditions will appear to be closer to black. If a standard and a diplomatic passport were scanned on the same device at the same time, I daresay you would be able to perceive the differences in the two when looking at them side-by-side. Viewing either one, in isolation, against a white background, may well make the dark blue seem to look like black. Also, viewing the same objects under sunlight or even artificial ‘white light’ rather than on a screen would almost certainly reveal their color differences.
If you want to know more, look up ‘gamut’ as it applies to color reproduction and perception.
My brand new passport is definitely Navy Blue.
While I haven’t handled a whole lot of passports in my life but I have worked a bit with color models in both print publications and web design. Perceived color is a ‘slippery’ thing. When I look at something with only my right eye, I ‘see’ a slightly different hue than when I look at the same thing (under the same lighting conditions) with only my left. The perceived color (or colour) of scanned or photographed images presented on screen depends on a host of variables including lighting, the equipment used to capture the image, the equipment used to portray the image, settings applicable to both, the background context of the image, and the viewer’s ‘perception’ - my loose term for the rather complex interaction between the eyes and the brain.
The standard issue U.S. passport isn’t just ‘blue’, it’s ‘navy blue’. More like an indigo that in certain lighting conditions will appear to be closer to black. If a standard and a diplomatic passport were scanned on the same device at the same time, I daresay you would be able to perceive the differences in the two when looking at them side-by-side. Viewing either one, in isolation, against a white background, may well make the dark blue seem to look like black. Also, viewing the same objects under sunlight or even artificial ‘white light’ rather than on a screen would almost certainly reveal their color differences.
If you want to know more, look up ‘gamut’ as it applies to color reproduction and perception.
My brand new passport is definitely Navy Blue.
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prad...ge-336992.html
to that picture:
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prad...ge-188345.html
the new passport version does seem to have a dark blue cover to me, but I have to confess now that I can't tell apart my blue and grey socks in the morning. So I am not the most reliable chap to trust on these matters.
I find it odd that there's a new US passport version around yet few (anyone?) seem to have had one issued. There's no talk about it on the internet either. But surely the Europeans didn't just invent it for their identity papers database. Maybe it's delayed until the current issues and delays clear up.
Mar 29, 2021 | 8:01 pm
#1060
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 291
According to the testimonies given here you should be fine, and if you start to worry you can always request to get it expedited, which seems to work fairly reliably.
Mar 30, 2021 | 4:35 pm
#1061
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
Very good points by both of you. When I'm comparing this picture:
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prad...ge-336992.html
to that picture:
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prad...ge-188345.html
the new passport version does seem to have a dark blue cover to me, but I have to confess now that I can't tell apart my blue and grey socks in the morning. So I am not the most reliable chap to trust on these matters.
I find it odd that there's a new US passport version around yet few (anyone?) seem to have had one issued. There's no talk about it on the internet either. But surely the Europeans didn't just invent it for their identity papers database. Maybe it's delayed until the current issues and delays clear up.
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prad...ge-336992.html
to that picture:
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prad...ge-188345.html
the new passport version does seem to have a dark blue cover to me, but I have to confess now that I can't tell apart my blue and grey socks in the morning. So I am not the most reliable chap to trust on these matters.
I find it odd that there's a new US passport version around yet few (anyone?) seem to have had one issued. There's no talk about it on the internet either. But surely the Europeans didn't just invent it for their identity papers database. Maybe it's delayed until the current issues and delays clear up.
The way this works is that the US sends over information to international partners so as to make them aware of the security features in US passports to look for to confirm that the passports they may encounter are legitimate US passports. This stuff usually gets put into a book for border guard types to use and/or into a look-up file for computer use, and sometimes the updates are done even before the passports are being issued in general circulation.
Some of the reference material used by passport control in the Schengen zone had alerted them to the fact that US passports are no longer to have additional page supplements added to them. Well, guess what happens at times nowadays when some of the Schengen passport control personnel encounter my travel party members' US passports with the supplemental pages added into the passport booklets? If they are aware of that change in US policy and notice the supplements -- and some of them do notice, more often women than men -- then they at times may have to go back and look up when that change in policy came into place.
[The elimination of the practice of inserting supplemental pages into US passports was done on the basis of "security" too.]Today when comparing the links, the diplomatic passport cover is definitely darker ordinary passport cover. My eyes must have been especially poor yesterday, so now I'll have to go check my socks from yesterday and today.
Last edited by GUWonder; Mar 30, 2021 at 4:43 pm
Mar 31, 2021 | 4:18 am
#1063
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've encountered the supplemental page thing mostly in Schengen countries to the north or west of Germany, but I also had less use for transiting Germany on trips from/to the US in recent years pre-pandemic than going via CPH, ARN, OSL and AMS.
Let's see how many years it will be until using the current general circulation stock for ordinary US passports increase the risk of some additional scrutiny because passport control assumes that the "older" stock should no longer be around and/or isn't legitimately valid. This kind of thing used to happen at times with some people who were on the tail years of validity for the green cover US passports.
Let's see how many years it will be until using the current general circulation stock for ordinary US passports increase the risk of some additional scrutiny because passport control assumes that the "older" stock should no longer be around and/or isn't legitimately valid. This kind of thing used to happen at times with some people who were on the tail years of validity for the green cover US passports.
Apr 1, 2021 | 8:11 am
#1064
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: WAS
Programs: enjoyed being warm spit for a few years on CO/UA but now nothing :(
Posts: 2,817
Another touchpoint: renewing for 2 children under 16.
Since the kids are under 16 renewal must be in-person with both parents. Our appt was at the local post office. Took about 30 minutes to process, including taking two photos. In addition to the standard passbook & card fees with regular delivery service (not expedited), we were charged USPS processing fee for both, fees for two photographs, fees for photocopies of 7 pages of forms and documents (I think that should have come out of the USPS processing fee!) and, since paying electronically by credit/debit card - two fees to convert the electronic payment to two money orders. Will provide processing details as available:
3/15 Renewal Application submitted
Since the kids are under 16 renewal must be in-person with both parents. Our appt was at the local post office. Took about 30 minutes to process, including taking two photos. In addition to the standard passbook & card fees with regular delivery service (not expedited), we were charged USPS processing fee for both, fees for two photographs, fees for photocopies of 7 pages of forms and documents (I think that should have come out of the USPS processing fee!) and, since paying electronically by credit/debit card - two fees to convert the electronic payment to two money orders. Will provide processing details as available:
3/15 Renewal Application submitted
Web page says if online status is "not found" after 2 weeks to call the center. Called around 3:50pm; 42 minutes on hold before speaking to service agent. Agent also did not find either application. Agent stated applications for minors are processed in Philadelphia after going through a postal security screening center which is very backed up; said check in another week and call back if still "not found."
Apr 1, 2021 | 8:52 am
#1065
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
The postal service is indeed backlogged -- I won't get started here about how long regular mail takes internationally from the US nowadays -- and that also has consequences for how things land in Philadelphia with State getting started, but sometime the online status being "not found" at some points in the process doesn't mean a whole lot in terms of how much longer the process will take.