Another thumbs up for the local state representative. I reached out to them 3 weeks prior to date of departure. I was able to speak with a live person on the second ring (YMMV!!) and he was immediately able to assure me that this would not be a problem - just that it was actually too soon for the agency to confirm an appointment. But after a week and a half wait, they were able to secure an in-person appointment for 3 days prior to departure. On the paperwork I have, I'm told to tell the officers that I have a "customer service appointment." And FWIW, the appointment is at 7am. I suspect there's a decent block of these customer service appointments each day, outside of the bookable ones via the state.travel.gov website (9am to 3 or 4pm).

Original documents received 06/18/2021.

I'm trying to follow the thread but there's so many data points. Need to travel to Mexico in 7 weeks and realized passport expired in March. Live in LA, no appointments available at local agencies even when I select travel within 3 days. I vaguely remember having worked with a company to rush my husband's passport 10 years ago but haven't dealt with this in ages and I realize I need to gather all my documents and apply somewhere ASAP.

- How long does expedited service currently take?
- Where should I apply for fastest service - USPS?
- What docs do I need?
- If I apply Monday and it doesn't arrive in time, I call a local state representative?? (and who would that be for California)
- Is there some work around that I have possibly missed (e.g. would it be possible to fly to Mexico with a driver's license only, and return on an expired passport? I also have Global Entry.)

Sorry for being so out of the loop :( I just emerged out of my Covid bubble clueless and now in a panic.

Just for your information, Applied for a passport renewal, routine processing:
May 5 Mailed Priority Mail 2 Day with Electronic Signature Conformation
May 8 Mail received at the Philadelphia center and signed for
June 16. Application received and showing In Process

Basically, it took 5 1/2 weeks from the time they received it to open the mail and log the application.

Just posting so people are aware of the very lengthy wait time before the passport application will show up in the system, and the 10-12 week processing period starts after it.

It is a routine renewal for me and I am in no rush, I have held a valid passport since 1986 and my first planned trip under the new one is in November, so I can wait it out.

MSC 75, I can't tell you about expedited. I am doing a routine renewal that finally showed up in the system after sitting in the mailroom for nearly 6 weeks, per my post above.

If your old passport is physically undamaged and in good shape, the only document you need is that old passport, since it was issued less than 15 years ago, and your DS-82 renewal application with a current, qualifying photo..

Since passports are Federal, it is your US House Representative you should contact. You can find your Representative at https://www.house.gov/representative...representative . You can also try your Senators, Diane Feinstein or Alan Padilla. I'd try your representative first, though, they have fewer people knocking on their door for constituent services than the nearly 40 million Feinstein and Padilla represent.

I don't know if actually applying at USPS is really any faster. Once they take the application, it is still mailed and will take the same mailing (and sitting at the passport center) time. You do not need to apply in person with a renewal, although you can. It isn't like going to an actual Passport Agency.

Your Global Entry card is good for land crossings without your accompanying passport. At least into the US, not sure how Mexico feels about it, but my guess is it would be okay. It isn't good for air travel and neither is your driver's license, even if you have an enhanced DL. You could walk across with your GE card and maybe fly on a Mexican internal flight from Tijuana. Apparently with COVID, US CBP is allowing re-entry for citizens with expired passports, although that was mainly intended for those who got stuck overseas and had no way to renew their passports when everything closed up.

The days of going to Mexico or Canada with only a driver's license and birth certificate are long gone. See the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).

You can get entry requirements at a consumer version of Timatic (Timatic is what the airlines use to verify your documents to decide to allow you to board). It is at https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/pas...quirements.htm

I didn't know this - thank you so much!

Some follow-up questions after catching up on the thread:

- I decided to do expedited + 1-2 day delivery on both ends. Is doing expedited through Philly a worse choice than regular through TX? I saw some posts about wanting to avoid Philly.
- Is there a chance they may exceed the 6 weeks processing time for expedited? My travel date is exactly 7 weeks from tomorrow (Monday) when I mail the application. 6 weeks + 4 mailing days barely gets it to me the friday before travel.
- Would bugging my representative around the 4-5 week mark work, even though they say to expect 4-6 weeks for expedited?

First time US Passport applicant here base in San Francisco, CA. Did the expedite and 1-2 day shipping fee due to my upcoming travel in August 2nd.
6-14 applied in person in USPS 1300 Evans Lane in SF
6-18 application received
6-21 my personal check payment was cleared in my checking account

TBC

My daughter's passport application has us pretty nervous since we are planing on traveling June 26th.

5-15 Application submitted via county clerk with expedite & 2nd day shipping.
6-14 My wife managed to secure an in-person appointment in Tuscon for 6/24.
6-15 Application showed up online.
6-21 (today) I managed to snag an appointment at the San Diego passport agency for 6/25

The big question is, will a child's passport be issued same day in San Diego for an AM appointment assuming all paperwork is in order and both parents are present? I'm leaning towards the 7 hour each way drive to Tuscon on Thursday to have that "oh crap" cushion, or am I just being paranoid? Will the fact that there is an application already in the system with a locator # assigned be an issue?

A couple of things I've learned trying to secure an in-person appointment. The scheduling system releases appointments 10 business days out at approximately 12am local time to the office. There is a 2-3 minute variance on the 12am time. Trick is to be at the search for appointment screen and keep hitting "search" for the nearest office you can get too. As an example tonight @ 12am (6/22) appointments for July 2nd will be released. You have to be fast. Places like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego, the appointment slots last 30 seconds. By the time I completed clicking through and validating my e-mail with the code the appointments were gone on multiple nights. I don't know about central & east coast locations but Seattle seems to be less popular and has appointments last minutes, and Honolulu is almost a sure bet. If hunting for a west coast appointment under 10 days I noticed that they pop up between 9pm & 11pm PST randomly as people in the east & central time zones secure more local appointments at 12am est/cst/mst and end up releasing the appointments further west they were sitting on from before...pretty sure that's how I managed to snag San Diego.

typically, assuming no irregularities in the application and both parents are present, and no staffing/logistical issues in passport agency, emergency passports are issued the same day as the appointment, usually within a couple of hours.

MSC75, I can't speak to the difference between Philly and Texas, I was stuck with Philly because that is where State says routine applications for my home state should go. I will say the Expedited PO Box is different one than that for routine. Hopefully, they open the mail quicker for the applications arriving at the expedited PO box.

The door to door time for expedited is actually listed as 12 weeks. They are including 6 weeks
"mailing" time, which disingenuously apparently includes the sitting-in-their-mailroom time. My application arrived in a couple days, according to the USPS signed receipt, but the total time was indeed about 6 weeks before it "arrived".

I am dubious about how effective to contacting Congresscritter's office before your application is "in process" and a locator number assigned would be. LThe constituent services staff will need that locator number to give to State to get information on your application. You can try it before, but I am not sure how well the bureaucracy will handle a request for an application that hasn't been logged in, even in response to a legislator's office. You can always contact your representative's office and see what they say.

I will say in your situation I'd contact my Representative's office as soon as I got the locator number.

You are in a tough situation, I hope it works out.

Passport Processing Time
 

So originally I read this thread and have seen so many highs and lows and it scared me... but have faith! I know you guys keep seeing “reach out to your senators” but please do ... because it WORKS. I am Brooklyn, NY based.


Expedited Services requested:

05/27/22 - Passport shipped from Brooklyn, NYC and arrived in Philadelphia, PA same DAY

06/03/21 - Passport on processing .....

06/17/21 - Passport still in processing....

06/17/21 - Reached out to Senator Kristen Gillibrand’s office and Chuck Schumer’s office around 2am in the morning after doing some forum research on steps to take when in doubt and travel date is approaching.

06/17/21 - Response from Kristen Gillibrand’s case work office SAME DAY 2pm assigning me a casework number. Requested I fill out the privacy act form and I sent it back same day.

(It is now 6/22/21 and STILL NO response from Chuck Schumer’s office, you can’t even reach his office on a landline).

06/21/21 - Kristen Gillibrand’s office reaches back out to me to confirm they’ve submitted an inquiry on my behalf 11am.

06/21/21 - PASSPORT APROVED 11:07pm

06/24/21 - Expected arrival date of passport.

*** 06/25/21 is my Travel date. ***

My Elected official experience so far
 

After reading all these post, I had high hopes for my elected representatives. Unfortunately I have received no help from them. We applied for my 1 month old at the time passport on 05/28. Travel on 06/26, my wife grandma is very sick, currently on her death bed so we need to make it out on the 26th for the chance of her grandma seeing our kids for the 1st time before she goes...

05/28 - Applied at passport facility in Los Angeles CA - EXPIDTED AND 1/2 day shipping on the back end
06/03- Received Email confirmation that the application is in process
06/04- Check Cashed
06/11- Reached out to my local congressman office and let them know the situation and filled out privacy release form
06/11- Heard back from congressman office was told they are looking into it
06/14 - Reached out to one of my 2 senators filled out privacy release form (Feinstein)
06/15 - Reached out to the other senator filled out privacy release form (Padilla)
06/17 - sent follow up email to all 3 representatives
06/21 - Sent follow up email again
06/22 - Still in process

This is were we stand. Have not heard back from the senators at all and still waiting on the congressmen's office to provide me with an update. The last post gives me some hope still.... however its not looking good. Need to try my luck with the Life and death appointments they provide.

"Will the fact that there is an application already in the system with a locator # assigned be an issue?" - any update this with question?

Please let us know if you eventually hear back from any of these people. I'm in LA as well and will probably be hunting down the same people in 3-4 weeks.

I'm about to cancel my Tuscon 10:30am 6/24 appointment if someone is desperate to get in for same day service. PM me so we can co-ordinate the cancellation (the appointment slot should pop up in the system immediately).