Last tip on that, if you do not mind waiting perhaps an hour or two, you can go to the Rimowa store in Soho and get them for free..........if you have the time to waste.

It looks like Rimowa Soho is not an option at the moment:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...83137502dc.png

("Passport Studio currently closed for maintenance.")

Do a few selfies pick the one that matches the instructions best and print a sheet of passport sized ones at Walmart or similar for about 20c a picture. Less risky than screwing it up in a Photo Booth

I checked the website already but they are not very clear with everything. I recalled a while back I waited outside for a long time before going into the building and am pretty certain I booked an urgent appointment for this. I recall after going in and then waiting a long time and then after I gave them the application, I believe I went t into this room and waited a long time before waiting to get back my passport hours later. I don't remember leaving the building and say coming back hours later to pick the passport up. So I wanted to know for those who got an appointment and then picked up their passport, was it same day and was it similar situation. I am well aware you can't just show up outside and just wait.


Well I heard mail is what many people do and for regular speed and expedited it they want it faster. So I wanted to know how long is takes now in NYC for expedited If I choose that option.


I never mentioned anything about saving money. I wanted to know what the costs would be. I know it costs $130 for a passport and $60 more for expedited so it will cost $190 total. But if you do urgent appointment, this is $190 but do you have to pay an additional amount if they were to mail it to you if you can't pick it up same day or next few days.


I don't remember how it was back then but I believe I showed a printed out ticket to them. This was when I booked my flight and printed it out. So the flight ticket I will show them is what I booked. However, say someone gets their appointment about a week before their departure date and was able to get their passport the same day or next day and they are suppose to fly out in 6 days. Now is this person allowed to change their flight say a few days earlier or a few days later or that isn't allowed since they already have their passport. Do they have to fly on that exact day if that person now wants to fly earlier or later?


Well I wanted to know who here gotten the passport the same day and what their appointment time was. Like if few people say yes I got the passport the same day in the afternoon and my appointment was like 8:30am, then it makes sense to book an early appointment time. But if a lot of them said they come back a day or two later or they mail it, now it's different. So I want to know from people who renewed their passport in NYC what time was their appointment and when they received the passport. The thing is if no matter what they never give you the passport the same day, then I'm going to pick a later appointment time. If they give you the passport in the same day in the afternoon if you do early appointment time, I would do that.


The thing is when I did my passport photos a while back, I am not near that location. That place was a regular photo place and it wasn't a pharmacy. I recall they took many photos and then I believe I get to choose the one I wanted. The thing is if I take passport photos at the pharmacy, I'm not sure how that works exactly. Will I be allowed to have many photos taken and then get to choose which one I want printed out? All the times that I been to a pharmacy, I had noticed a photo area but I don't think I ever seen a person there help someone taking photos so that is why I ask. The other thing is whatever photo you take at a pharmacy like a Walgreens or CVS, whatever photo you choose for them to print out for you will 100% be acceptable at the passport office right? When I went to the photo place a while back, that place does passport photos so obviously they will tell you if yes or no that photo is good to go. Will the same be at a pharmacy? The last thing I want is doing it at a pharmacy and bringing the photo to passport office and they say they don't accept the photo for whatever reason.

jerry90210 , perhaps you will get more responses to your questions, and perhaps you won't. My question to you is: How many more hours/days/weeks are you going to wait for responses before you book your desired flight and start the process to schedule your appointment with the passport agency?

In any case, you should not opt to have the passport agency mail your passport to you. Passports are sent via Priority Mail which is not a guaranteed service. There have been too many horror stories of Priority Mail items being misrouted, getting stuck in a USPS processing center for days, etc., etc. It would be one thing if this were a routine passport renewal, and it did not matter whether it took two weeks or two months to receive the new passport. But that's not your situation. If you have to return to the passport agency on a subsequent day to pick up your passport then that's what you'll have to do.

This might be a good time for you to schedule a reminder in your phone's calendar for November, 2034, to renew your passport once again, so that you don't have to go through the stress and expense of an urgent or expedited passport renewal.

I'll wade in here on the passport pics at a pharmacy. I and others in our family have had pictures taken at walgreens and cvs. I cant remember if they took multiple pictures but they now they give you both physical and digital (on a small memory stick) so you can use the pics for all kinds of applications. We have used them for passports, visas to Vietnam , Cambodia, New Zealand and Australia just this year as wll as passes to Angkor Wat National Park and other types of licenses that required a photo. There are people to assist in the photo department of the pharmacies and there is usually a pull down screen to use as a background, or failing that, a white door that can be used. I have to renew a passport later this year and I am all ready. I hope. Good luck.

I see that some FedEx offices now also offer passport photos -- for a couple of dollars less than Walgreens/CVS.

Edited to add: The FedEx Office Print and Ship Center at 200 Varick Street (a three-minute walk from the Passport Agency on Hudson Street) offers passport photos:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...aadb627613.png

I couldn't book my flight a few days ago because it would be more than 14 days that I plan to depart. I couldn't do it earlier since I wasn't even in the US at the time.


Yes I am aware sending my passport to USPS and doing expedited is not a good idea in case it takes longer or something messes up. However, I want to know if it means if you book an early appointment time like at 8:30am, would that most likely mean you could pick up your passport the same day in the afternoon. You keep on mentioning it may or may not be the case but I want to know from people's experiences if they were able to get the passport the same day as their urgent appointment. If they did, what was their appointment time. Like If someone's appointment was at noon, then they are not going to get it the same day. And how many days later before they went and go pick it up. The thing is if many people said they got it in the afternoon on the same day and their appointment was early as in 8:30am or something like that, then it would make sense for me to choose an early appointment time. Would you agree on that or not? Don't you think most people would prefer to come pick it up the same day if they had the chance to as oppose picking it up the next day or few days later? Yes if I had to come pick it up days later, then that is what I have to do. But if people say they got it in the same afternoon and have early appointment, don't you think many people would do an early appointment instead for that reason?


Getting a new passport happens once every 9 to 10 years. This isn't something to make a note of. The thing is I asked these questions before I got to the US so I wanted opinion and experience from people who renewed their passport recently so I would know what I would do once back in NYC. When I got back, I couldn't make an appointment since it's more than 14 days since my plan of departure. I didn't book a ticket yet but will do so soon. The thing is I want to know from people who done an urgent appointment in NYC like in the last few months and can give a timetable of how things went from the time they booked urgent appointment to when they received their new passport. I did this urgent appointment for travel back 10 years ago or so and already described what I believe I did back then. So I wanted to know it's similar to now or did many things change. I don't remember how many days exactly years ago did I book an urgent appointment before my flight but it is obviously less than 14 days. I just recall waiting in a very long line outside in the morning before being let in with others and then getting the passport the same afternoon and waited in a room with a ton of people I believe. I don't believe I even left the building after I submitted the application though I might be wrong here. That is why I'm asking this.

Did the person at CVS or Walgreens help you with the photos? My main concern is how do I know for sure the photos they take are going to be good and acceptable before I bring them to the passport office for the appointment? When I went to a photo place that did passport photo years ago, I remember they took several photos and asked me which one I want and I picked that and that was it. But that location is far from where I"m at now so I can't go there.


So Fedex offers passport photos I didn't know that but not surprised by this. You mention this one is a short bit from the Passport Agency. Well if I go to Fedex, I'm not going to go to that one to take photos right since if I do, I would literally be going there before I go to the appointment which obviously isn't a good idea. I'm not sure if you are aware or not but I do not live close to the Passport Agency on Hudson street. I have to take transportation to get there and that probably takes an hour or so. So if I go to a Fedex to take photos, I would just go to one near by me at least a day or few days before or so before I bring it with me to the appointment. That is why I mention why I want to know if people who have early appointment got the passport the same day in the afternoon because if so, I pick early appointment time as I don't want to go back a day or few days later to pick up the new passport. If they don't get it the same day, then I'm going to choose a later appointment time. I don't like early appointment times but if it means I could get the passport in the same afternoon, then obviously I would do that.

That's not true at all. You can book your ticket whenever you want. (And sometimes, you get a cheaper fare by booking further in advance.) You just cannot request an expedited appointment with the Passport Agency more than 14 days before your ticketed departure date.

Yes, we all know what you want to know. But even if you got one or two data points out of the many, many people who have used the expedited appointment process in the past year, that's still not going to tell you what will happen in your case. Nobody knows how backed up the Manhattan Passport Agency will be on the day of your appointment, or how many Passport Agency employees will be on vacation or out sick on the day you go. But it seems to me that if there is any chance of receiving your passport on the same day, getting an early morning appointment would maximize -- but not guarantee -- your chances.

Edited to add: Yes, you should plan to get your photos as soon as you can, once you get your appointment scheduled with the Passport Agency. You have not told us where in the NY Metro area you are staying, and that's really none of our business. But I'm sure that you can find a place for passport photos near you, whether it be CVS, Walgreens, FedEx Office Print and Ship, or someplace else.

jerry90210 , this is a little off topic, but do you hold a Mexican residency permit? If not, you might want to take a look at this recent article:

https://www.mexperience.com/changes-...isitor-permit/

("Changes to Time Allowed in Mexico Using a Visitor Permit

"The way visitors are admitted to Mexico is changing in regard to the amount of time granted to stay under auspice of a visitor permit (FMM).")

Yes you can book a ticket whenever you want. The thing is I am not sure exactly which day I was going to book for departure which is why I didn't book it yet. Yes I know booking it earlier gets you a lower fare. Yes I know you can't request an urgent appointment more than 14 days before the departure date.


Well I would like to know from a few people who did the urgent appointment if they got the passport on the same day or not and if so, what time was their appointment. Yes I know it might just be a few examples but I like that information. Now say 2 people had appointments at 8:30am and say they had to come back a few days later. Then if that's the case, then most likely not going to get it same day so I might do the appointment hours later as I don't like early appointments... though that probably might mean I get my passport later 1 day than someone with an appointment earlier. Yes I want to know if getting an appointment early in the morning increases the chance of getting the passport the same day. Because if it does at all, then I will choose an early time appointment. The thing is I know there are a lot of people who do urgent appointment so curious what their experience was like. I would like to know from people who did urgent appointment recently... like in the last few months at the most. Someone doing it last year would not be that good example to compare it to now probably as things change. Like if several people here mention yes I did urgent passport in NYC few months ago, then that information would be important.


Yes I know I should get my passport photos as soon as I can. I would do this once I have an appointment scheduled. I'm in the NYC area but wanted to know if it's a good idea to just go to a photo place that does photos or go to a CVS, Walgreens or Fedex etc. My concern with the CVS or Walgreens is how would I know for sure the photos I take will be accepted. Will the employee at Walgreens look at your photo tell you it's acceptable? That is my issue here. The other thing is could you take many photos and then they show it to you and you choose which one you want? That is another important thing. FedEx site does seem to say it has technology to determine if your photo will be acceptable... correct? If so, at least Fedex seems better for that though say CVS or Walgreens? But it seems going to a photo place that does photos for passports seems to be the safest option since they can tell if the photos will be good or not? That is what I did a while back but that place I went to is too far away.

This is a general thread covering the entire United States. It is highly unlikely that there will be any FlyerTalkers reading it who have recent experience getting an urgent appointment at the NYC passport office. :idea:

Life involves uncertainty and we need to make decisions accordingly. :star:

I can certainly attest to the uncertainty factor, you never know what will get thrown at you. I recently had a regular passport appointment booked at my local post office a month prior to that for a minor and the morning of the appointment received a call that all appointments for that day were canceled since the person who processes them was out.

I don't know why nobody else could do it and they did not allow me to rebook for the following day or in the next few days over the phone and insisted I need to rebook online. Well, that entailed booking another month out. Good thing I'm not planning to travel with that minor for another few months and was planning the renewal accordingly. If I did then I'd be super frustrated, but would be making decisions accordingly if I couldn't wait another month for a regular appt.

Both CVS and Walgreens claim to use technology to ensure compliance with government requirements for passport photos:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ee3afff284.png
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...314f5d7ad8.png

If passport photos from CVS, FedEx Office, or Walgreens were regularly being rejected by the Passport Agency, I expect that we would have heard about that here on FlyerTalk.

I don't know whether it's an option where you live, but in some parts of the country, libraries and county clerk's offices can process passport applications. :idea:

Listen, guv spelled it out best for you. Unless someone knows a DoS person who is currently assigned to and working at the facility, no one on Earth can tell you with 100% certainty whether you are going to get it the same day, I believe that all possible permutations have already been answered several times on this thread. Regarding plane tickets, pretty much every permutation has been answered as has every possible passport picture scenario. As guv said, every single person t hat has read and answers this thread understands and understands again and again what you want to know, and has answered with the greatest degree possible of certainty possible. You are dealing with a government bureaucratic function, one that until very recently was extremely backed up due to the Covid backlog, and one that for all we know could lose have its employees due to DOGE cuts. Also, I do not believe that in the history of this office, anyone has ever asked for their passports to be mailed as that would negate the purpose, wouldn't it?

I’ve read the next couple of responses and completely agree with them. On that front my last two passports were acquired using some form of emergency / last minute reasons (on the edge of the intention of the program) I’ve had the required photos (from Walgreens) and an international ticket (refundable) in hand , but I believe that living near a passport office helped.
Multiple administrations between then and now but with the same bureaucracy. So, show up, be persistent and calm and have a positive mental state.
So have faith and good luck.

Okay so I'm not sure why this wasn't mentioned earlier but you could take a passport photo at the post office at USPS? I read you can actually do that but you have to get an appointment for it? I'm close to a USPS post office and it would seem this would be the best option? But I"m not going to send the passport by USPS. So USPS would work? It seems to cost $15 so basically similar to what Walgreens and CVS and Fedex charges but it seems better to do it with USPS?


Has anyone done passport photos at USPS? Seems like that is the best option since it would be rare for them to make a mistake while taking a photo and giving it to you? Any experiences with this?

Before you even consider using the USPS for your passport photos, use the USPS scheduling engine to see how long the waiting time is for an appointment at a post office near you which offers photo service. If the waiting time is two weeks or more, then that obviously won't work for you.

I'm not sure why you think that a USPS employee is any more competent than a CVS, FedEx Office, or Walgreens employee at taking a passport photo. I certainly would not make that assumption, but frankly I think you will be fine no matter which of those places you use to take a passport photo. This isn't exactly rocket science.

There are stand alone local stores too that do passport photos and are perfectly competent as well. I have several kids who've had passports since they're infants and until they're 16 we need to renew every 5 years and sometimes, especially when they were younger, they weren't in their most cooperative state when taking the pictures. Nevertheless, I've never once had a passport photo rejected from that store and I've done this quite a number of times to date. The people in the store I use seem to know what they're doing and the pictures have always been accepted - so what if they're not good enough to go into their high school year books but it works to let us travel for the next 5 years and nobody cares.

For an adult I don't see that there should be any issue just doing it anywhere that advertises they do passport photos - just pick the most convenient place that will get it done and get it over with.

FWIW, we once had photos taken at the USPS office where we had an appointment and they were rejected.

There are many on-line places where you can upload a photo and download an image for free that can be printed at any 1hr photo place (CVS, Walgreens, etc.) for 30c or so. :eek:ne of those sites is this one (I have zero connection other than having used it to download a 4x6 sheet of pix). But there are a lot (most/all of which offer paid services too). I've had good luck printing passport pix like this.

I thought taking passport photos at post office would be better since well lot of people would take the photo there and then mail it in with USPS. So the USPS person would make less mistakes if any. That was my thought. I checked and the few USPS close to me doesn't seem to have appointments for few weeks so it isn't going to work.


Well the last time I had my passport photos taken, it was a photo shop that did passport photos so those are obviously the best. But the one I went to a while back is to far for me.


I want to get it done at a place where the passport photo is good and acceptable. The last thing I want is to bring it to an appointment and then they tell me the photo isn't going to work. That is why I want to make sure the photo is good so that is why I'm asking which place is the best to do it. I don't think me uploading a photo and downloading it for free and paying 30 cents or so is a good idea. Does anyone know how do you make sure the photo they give you is will work for sure? Thus I want to know it works for sure before going to an appointment.

Nobody can guarantee you any photo from any particular place is going to work. The online do-it-yourself things have guides to adjust photos so they are acceptable. I've used them many many times and they work. The people at passport picture shops have done it many times too, at many times the price. Those should work too. You have plenty of options and have been given lots of good advice here. N:pw is the time to start using some of that advice.

As you've been told several times in various threads, there is no 100% guarantee that:

1. your carry-on bag would not have to be checked;

2. you would be approved for a credit card with low income;

3. you would not be required to show a physical credit card when you check in for a JetBlue flight from Mexico;

4. you would be able to receive your passport on the same day that you go to the Passport Agency; and

5. your passport photo would be accepted.

You are asking for certainty in an uncertain world.

One of the things you can do is print out the Passport Agency's guidelines for passport photos, take that printout to wherever you choose to get your passport photos, and then compare the photos to the guidelines before you leave the store. This won't guarantee anything, but it should minimize the risk that your photo will be rejected.

Passport Agency photo guidelines here:

https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...ly/photos.html

Have you purchased your ticket back to CUN yet?

Let's get back to focusing on the historical reason for this important thread:

”CURRENT US PASSPORT WAIT”

Future off topic posts are subject to removal or transfer.

My partner and I just had a baby and we're traveling the first week of June. We live in a city with a passport office and now have the baby's birth certificate and social security card. Would it be better for us to go through the traditional passport process immediately, knowing that we're about seven weeks from the date of international travel at the time of this post, or should we wait and go with the passport office within 14 days of travel?

You can do the traditional process immediately with Expedited service and you should normally receive the passport well ahead of your travel date. I personally would be too nervous to wait until I'm within 14 days of travel when you can probably already have the passport in hand by then. Plus waiting at the NYC passport office wouldn't be my favorite way to spend the day with a newborn...

I just did a regular non expedited child passport on Thursday 4/10 and will have a DP to share probably within a few weeks which isn't going to be of help to you at this point but may be for others. The $100 check was cashed today 4/15.

Recent DP as we recently mailed in an application with expedited processing and shipping — took 13 (total) days from the Department of State accepting the application. 7 weeks should be more than enough time sans any application/shipping issues.

You could always book an international trip within 2 weeks of now and get the passport via the office sooner…maybe a ticket to Toronto?

Mine (a renewal, so take with a little grain of salt) literally took two days.
Submitted application > processed > new one sent within 2-3 days.

So by that metric, they're either (1) not busy, or (2) have a lot of capacity.

Was this done online or in person?

online.
(I live in a state w/o in-person capability - the best we can do is 'package' up ours at a 'passport center' but it gets mailed in)

Note that once your physical stuff is in their hands, they scan it into the system and it goes into the same online round-robin queue... unless you do 100% in-person like in Houston.

Update:
4/25 very early a.m. received email that status changed to Approved (10 days after check was cashed)
4/25 10+ hours after that in the afternoon, I received another email that the passport book Shipped via USPS Priority mail and tracking number was provided
4/28 today passport was received

So 18 days from the day we applied in person at the local post office until we received the passport in our possession. This is I think even faster than expedited service used to take but I'm guessing it's not something you can rely on if you have travel plans and don't want to be nervous that you'll get the passport in time. We're not planning to go anywhere with this kid until July or August or maybe not even at all but I always want to make sure we have a valid passport on hand just in case.

Here is my U.S. Passport renewal process:

• U.S. Passport renewal mailed: 21 March 2025
• Arrived in Irving, TX.: 24 March 2025
• Rejected: 7 April 2025 [photo]
• Resubmitted: 15 April 2025
• Arrived in Irving, TX.: 19 April 2025
• Approved: 30 April 2025
• Return Address: Charleston, SC. 29405
• Accepted in Tucson, AZ. 85710: 2 May 2025
• Travelled from Tucson to Chicago in 56 minutes.
• Went out and was delivered in 203 minutes.
• Arrived in Chicago, IL. 60641: 3 May 2025

Really pleasantly surprised.

Applied online late evening May 11
Payment processed May 15
Approved May 16
Shipped May 17
In my hands..no expedited shipped May 21

Really efficient.

I hope this is my case!

8/17 - Applied online for renewal (using digital pic); no changes needed
8/19 - Received email today saying payment successful & application will be transferred for processing
8/20 - Received email "In Process"
8/25 - "Shipped". Says it originated from Tucson.

I wasn't allowed to choose expedited with digital, so I am in the "regular" queue, and I paid for expedited shipping. I wonder if it's a quicker process, in their hands, when done digitally. Seems so?

Travel date: end of Sept, so I am riding the line if it actually takes more than 4 weeks :eek:

Even though the US government is shutdown, and the State Department's website says passport operations will still continue, I figured that things would take longer.

Baby Swede, now 18, applied for her first adult passport book and card this past Tuesday (10/14). We received an e-mail from state.gov today stating they received it and will process the application, etc.

That said, https://passportstatus.state.gov/ appears to be down.

Yes, passport operations (as well as Global Entry applications) are all self-funding by the fees, so they are continuing to operate, business as usual.

Wow. Just got multiple e-mails today saying the application was approved, passport book and card printed, and shipped via USPS. Expected delivery date of 10/27, so less than two weeks!

11/12 - Applied online for renewal in afternoon eastern time. Requested 52-page passport book and card. Rejected pic from AAA office, accepted a selfie against an off white wall.
11/13 - Received In Process Notification
11/17 - (early evening) Received Approval Email
11/17 - (late evening) Received Shipping Notification and tracking number
11/22 - Passport book arrived in mail. Sent US Priority Mail with tracking.
11/24 - Passport card arrived in mail. Sent USPS First Class mail in a normal letter sized envelope.