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)
#1096
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: AA
Posts: 14,743
Wow this is so fast. Did you mail to PA or TX? I sent mine expedited to PA on Saturday (4/3). USPS shows it arrived on Monday (4/5). Getting it delivered is I guess the first hurdle but nervous about all the stuff I’m reading about delays in PA. My travel date is 5/26. This is a renewal.
#1097
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Haze gray and underway
Programs: UA 1K 2MM, HH Diamond, Marriott 'clink clink' Titanium
Posts: 1,784
After reading the above I seem justified in holding on until the last minute and making an international trip as an excuse for hand carrying an expedited renewal application.
#1098
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 2
2/13/2021 - Application mailed to Irving TX via USPS Priority Mail - I requested routine service
2/22/2021 - Application arrived
2/24/2021 - Application status changes to "in process"
4/6/2021 - Application status changes to "approved" - the email reports it is in the mail and gives a tracking number
4/7/2021 - USPS reports that the Expected Delivery is by 4/10/2021
If it arrives on 4/10/2021, it will be exactly 8 weeks from when I mailed the application to TX.
2/22/2021 - Application arrived
2/24/2021 - Application status changes to "in process"
4/6/2021 - Application status changes to "approved" - the email reports it is in the mail and gives a tracking number
4/7/2021 - USPS reports that the Expected Delivery is by 4/10/2021
If it arrives on 4/10/2021, it will be exactly 8 weeks from when I mailed the application to TX.
Last edited by Peter Alexander; Apr 7, 2021 at 1:14 pm Reason: more detail
#1099
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Miami, Florida
Posts: 22
Passport processing Delays
2/13/2021 - Application mailed to Irving TX via USPS Priority Mail - I requested routine service
2/22/2021 - Application arrived
2/24/2021 - Application status changes to "in process"
4/6/2021 - Application status changes to "approved" - the email reports it is in the mail and gives a tracking number
4/7/2021 - USPS reports that the Expected Delivery is by 4/10/2021
If it arrives on 4/10/2021, it will be exactly 8 weeks from when I mailed the application to TX.
2/22/2021 - Application arrived
2/24/2021 - Application status changes to "in process"
4/6/2021 - Application status changes to "approved" - the email reports it is in the mail and gives a tracking number
4/7/2021 - USPS reports that the Expected Delivery is by 4/10/2021
If it arrives on 4/10/2021, it will be exactly 8 weeks from when I mailed the application to TX.
#1100
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: NY
Posts: 7
I am a first time passport applicant. Applied at USPS on 3/15 in Upstate NY, "In Process" status on 3/19. Check cashed on 3/22. However, for my wife , applied on 3/27 at same post office, but case status still shows "Not available" as of today & asking not to worry until after 4 weeks of applying.
#1101
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 4
#1102
Join Date: Nov 2009
Programs: DL PM 1MM
Posts: 3,441
3/1/2021 - Application mailed to Irving TX via USPS Priority Mail - routine service
3/5/2021 - Application delivered to PO box
3/9/2021 - Application status changes to "in process"
x/xx/2021 - Application status changes to "approved"
x/xx/2021 - USPS reports that the Expected Delivery is by x/xx/2021
Based on recent trends in this thread, it would seem that "approved" might be approximately 4/20.
3/5/2021 - Application delivered to PO box
3/9/2021 - Application status changes to "in process"
x/xx/2021 - Application status changes to "approved"
x/xx/2021 - USPS reports that the Expected Delivery is by x/xx/2021
Based on recent trends in this thread, it would seem that "approved" might be approximately 4/20.
#1103
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 101
You're not the only one going through that, the USPS has opened an investigation and sent in a team of postal inspectors to the Philadelphia distribution center to see why passport applications are being severely delayed. If you can take any solace from this is that all applications eventually arrive, even with major delays. A CBS affiliate in Boston just ran a news story for a woman whose passport renewal application sat at the Philadelphia USPS center for over a month
I don't know if it just didn't get scanned or whatever but my tracking still shows that it's "in Transit" out of Phoenix... hasn't even made it to the PO Box as far as I can tell;
#1104
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 7
Was it sent with tracking? We mailed ours on 3/4 at 4:45PM from Charlotte, NC to Philadelphia. They show as received on Sunday 3/7 on USPS. Then, they finally showed up on the Passport Status check site (after 2 or 3 calls) on 3/23 and show as processing.
If you mailed on 1/27 and have proof of delivery, you should call the National Passport Center and ask where your application(s) are at. Has your fee check cleared?
If you mailed on 1/27 and have proof of delivery, you should call the National Passport Center and ask where your application(s) are at. Has your fee check cleared?
I did have a tracking number. It is being shown has delivered. I have called the passport agency 4 times and they just tell me to keep waiting. It has been over 10 weeks. My check has never cleared. I am going to have to fill out a lost or stolen passport application soon.
#1105
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 101
3/1/2021 - Application mailed to Irving TX via USPS Priority Mail - routine service
3/5/2021 - Application delivered to PO box
3/9/2021 - Application status changes to "in process"
x/xx/2021 - Application status changes to "approved"
x/xx/2021 - USPS reports that the Expected Delivery is by x/xx/2021
Based on recent trends in this thread, it would seem that "approved" might be approximately 4/20.
3/5/2021 - Application delivered to PO box
3/9/2021 - Application status changes to "in process"
x/xx/2021 - Application status changes to "approved"
x/xx/2021 - USPS reports that the Expected Delivery is by x/xx/2021
Based on recent trends in this thread, it would seem that "approved" might be approximately 4/20.
3/22/2021 - In transit, Phoenix, AZ
That's it for my updates. F me.
#1106
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Miami, Florida
Posts: 22
Passport processing Delays
It is very likely that your application was delivered already and it was never scanned, that has happened to a lot of people. The so called PO Box is in reality a mailing facility that only receives passport applications
#1107
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Miami, Florida
Posts: 22
I did have a tracking number. It is being shown has delivered. I have called the passport agency 4 times and they just tell me to keep waiting. It has been over 10 weeks. My check has never cleared. I am going to have to fill out a lost or stolen passport application soon.
#1108
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 15,351
At the moment, if one is able to get into an Embassy or Consulate in Europe ( which can be a challenge as some are not doing regular ACS appointments, or are very restrictive on days and times) the time between application and receiving a passport is consistently under 14 days. I know someone who applied last Monday and got their passport yesterday (Wednesday) = 9 days.
#1109
Join Date: Nov 2009
Programs: DL PM 1MM
Posts: 3,441
3/1/2021 - Application mailed to Irving TX via USPS Priority Mail - routine service
3/5/2021 - Application delivered to PO box
3/9/2021 - Application status changes to "in process"
x/xx/2021 - Application status changes to "approved"
x/xx/2021 - USPS reports that the Expected Delivery is by x/xx/2021
Based on recent trends in this thread, it would seem that "approved" might be approximately 4/20.
3/5/2021 - Application delivered to PO box
3/9/2021 - Application status changes to "in process"
x/xx/2021 - Application status changes to "approved"
x/xx/2021 - USPS reports that the Expected Delivery is by x/xx/2021
Based on recent trends in this thread, it would seem that "approved" might be approximately 4/20.
3/5/2021 - Application delivered to PO box
3/9/2021 - Application status changes to "in process"
4/8/2021 - Application status changes to "approved"
4/9/2021 - USPS reports that the Expected Delivery is by 4/13/2021
Might be 6 weeks 2 days door to door, based on this information.