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)
May 5, 2021, 5:50 am
#1216
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 5
Wife sent in old passport and required information on 3/14 to have name changed. Check was cashed days later. We paid to have expedited, so should be 4-6 weeks.
3/17 - Shows in process and has been in process ever since with no other contact. Found out it’s at their Virginia office, but they have no contact to give us.
We’re passed 5 weeks now and I’m starting to worry since I’m seeing others have gotten theirs in less time. We leave on our trip 5/23, but I have to fill out a form with the country’s government website a week before we leave and I need the passport info. Anyone else waiting this long on expedited passport?
3/17 - Shows in process and has been in process ever since with no other contact. Found out it’s at their Virginia office, but they have no contact to give us.
We’re passed 5 weeks now and I’m starting to worry since I’m seeing others have gotten theirs in less time. We leave on our trip 5/23, but I have to fill out a form with the country’s government website a week before we leave and I need the passport info. Anyone else waiting this long on expedited passport?
Update:
Application still shows in process with no communication about anything wrong or needed. Already called the state senators office to see if that helps. Passport customer service is useless and say there’s no way to contact the location the application is being processed, which I call BS on. You’re telling me your offices have no way to be contacted... We paid for expedited everything and it’s been in process for over 6 weeks now. They’re real quick to cash our check though! 3 days and the check was cashed.
Application still shows in process with no communication about anything wrong or needed. Already called the state senators office to see if that helps. Passport customer service is useless and say there’s no way to contact the location the application is being processed, which I call BS on. You’re telling me your offices have no way to be contacted... We paid for expedited everything and it’s been in process for over 6 weeks now. They’re real quick to cash our check though! 3 days and the check was cashed.
May 5, 2021, 8:57 am
#1217
Join Date: Sep 2011
Programs: Delta DM, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,495
5/5: It’s now been 7 weeks that passport has been in process. Have called passport agency and they show nothing in their system other than still in process. Had senators office reach out over a week ago and still no word. Don’t understand what’s wrong because no one has contacted us with anything. With everything expedited we should have received it by now or at least been given some update. You can’t get anything from customer service. We are supposed to leave on our trip May 23... Can’t think of anything else to do.
May 5, 2021, 3:22 pm
#1220
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: WAS
Programs: enjoyed being warm spit for a few years on CO/UA but now nothing :(
Posts: 2,507
If you did not request expedited processing then you should expect up to 12 weeks for it to completed starting from when the check is cashed.
May 5, 2021, 3:55 pm
#1221
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: SFO
Programs: COdbaUA Platinum 2MM
Posts: 5,532
2 April 2021, sent in application to Texas via USPS first class mail using online fillable form with a bar code
27 April 2021 Received Application Status: In Process and check cashed on the same day
Was not going to renew until 1 Aug 2021, after reading this forum with delays, decided to renew earlier.
27 April 2021 Received Application Status: In Process and check cashed on the same day
Was not going to renew until 1 Aug 2021, after reading this forum with delays, decided to renew earlier.
May 6, 2021, 7:50 am
#1222
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: NYC
Programs: AA 2MM, Bonvoy LTT, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 14,640
Your applications are not lost. Please read the earlier posts in this thread - it is taking up to 6 weeks for regularly mailed applications (including those accepted at a US Post Orifice!) to be received and officially entered into the system with the checks typically cashed within 3 days of being officially received. Regular processing is then taking 10-12 weeks; expedited processing is varying from a week to 3 weeks.
The state dept passport website provides an option to register to receive email notifications about status changes - it does work; you might wish to register for it.
The state dept passport website provides an option to register to receive email notifications about status changes - it does work; you might wish to register for it.
Submitted application at USPS on MAR 30. Just received notification morning of MAY 6 the application was received on MAY 5 (5 weeks 1 days). Application was not showing up on a status check 24 hours ago. My bank also showed the fee debited this morning as well.
Guess they are really slow at opening mail or just quarantining it or both.
May 6, 2021, 9:19 am
#1223
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: SFO
Programs: COdbaUA Platinum 2MM
Posts: 5,532
This appears to be the case.
Submitted application at USPS on MAR 30. Just received notification morning of MAY 6 the application was received on MAY 5 (5 weeks 1 days). Application was not showing up on a status check 24 hours ago. My bank also showed the fee debited this morning as well.
Guess they are really slow at opening mail or just quarantining it or both.
Submitted application at USPS on MAR 30. Just received notification morning of MAY 6 the application was received on MAY 5 (5 weeks 1 days). Application was not showing up on a status check 24 hours ago. My bank also showed the fee debited this morning as well.
Guess they are really slow at opening mail or just quarantining it or both.
May 6, 2021, 9:42 am
#1224
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: NYC
Programs: AA 2MM, Bonvoy LTT, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 14,640
Filled out online. The print out had the application details encoded in the barcode.
May 6, 2021, 11:08 am
#1225
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: NY
Posts: 7
Here is a Google sheets tracker for keeping track of passport waiting times...
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...bm0/edit#gid=0
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...bm0/edit#gid=0
May 6, 2021, 3:14 pm
#1226
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 7
2 Applications at same time
Seeking some advice ...
I applied for a regular passport application on 1/27. I called beginning of April and was advised that my application was not there so I should fill out a lost and stolen passport application.
I mailed in my lost and stolen passport application on 4/6
Got an email on 5/3 my passport application was received.
Got another email on 5/4 another application was received.
I called the passport center. Was on hold over an hour and a half. The lady could only advise me to write a letter and mail it in to the passport center. She was trying to contact someone for me but I had to get off the phone because I had an interview. Any suggestions on how I should proceed?
I applied for a regular passport application on 1/27. I called beginning of April and was advised that my application was not there so I should fill out a lost and stolen passport application.
I mailed in my lost and stolen passport application on 4/6
Got an email on 5/3 my passport application was received.
Got another email on 5/4 another application was received.
I called the passport center. Was on hold over an hour and a half. The lady could only advise me to write a letter and mail it in to the passport center. She was trying to contact someone for me but I had to get off the phone because I had an interview. Any suggestions on how I should proceed?
May 6, 2021, 3:15 pm
#1227
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 280
Maybe then diacritical signs could be supported too!
May 6, 2021, 3:18 pm
#1228
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 280
Seeking some advice ...
I applied for a regular passport application on 1/27. I called beginning of April and was advised that my application was not there so I should fill out a lost and stolen passport application.
I mailed in my lost and stolen passport application on 4/6
Got an email on 5/3 my passport application was received.
Got another email on 5/4 another application was received.
I called the passport center. Was on hold over an hour and a half. The lady could only advise me to write a letter and mail it in to the passport center. She was trying to contact someone for me but I had to get off the phone because I had an interview. Any suggestions on how I should proceed?
I applied for a regular passport application on 1/27. I called beginning of April and was advised that my application was not there so I should fill out a lost and stolen passport application.
I mailed in my lost and stolen passport application on 4/6
Got an email on 5/3 my passport application was received.
Got another email on 5/4 another application was received.
I called the passport center. Was on hold over an hour and a half. The lady could only advise me to write a letter and mail it in to the passport center. She was trying to contact someone for me but I had to get off the phone because I had an interview. Any suggestions on how I should proceed?
May 6, 2021, 3:21 pm
#1229
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 7
Fair thought. My only concerns is they now were able to cash two checks from me and I will only receive one passport. Seems unfair. I need my old passport back because it has valid visas in it.
May 6, 2021, 3:23 pm
#1230
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: NYC
Programs: AA 2MM, Bonvoy LTT, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 14,640
Everything we've read here suggests a shockingly manual (scanning mailed documents, manually reviewing information, checking various boxes on the application, additional supporting documentation checks and reconciliations?) and redundant passport issuance process, and I am not including the dismal postal performance. Time to outsource?
Maybe then diacritical signs could be supported too!
Maybe then diacritical signs could be supported too!