Cat Man Do

[RESOLVED]

I'll call State on Monday, but I don't have high hopes of getting straight answers from a bureaucratic call center. [Edit: Believe it or not, they were great. New passport shipped day after I called.]

I just received my new passport via USPS. Unfortunately, it seems to have been caught up in the automated machinery.

The shipping envelope has a hole in it. Of the two flyers included in the package, one was ripped in half, one had a hole punched in it. The whole thing was in a plastic envelope displaying an automated boilerplate apology for automated damage.

The passport itself:
Front cover is ok.
Info page is ok.
Many of the visa pages are frayed / bent on the edge.
There is a scuff / hole through the blue layer on the back cover. It does not penetrate all the way through the page.

I'm concerned whether the visa page damage could be an issue either at overseas entry points, or at airline check-in and gate checks.

Any thoughts on whether State might be willing to redo? I'd really rather not pay for another passport at this point.

chollie

What a pain. You definitely have to replace it because, as you note, it's just as likely to be an airline agent as CBP who rejects it, here or overseas.

Since USPS has clearly accepted responsibility, I would file a claim for the replacement costs with them. If it wasn't insured, they might try to deny the claim, but come on - this isn't the sort of thing people should have to insure against.

TWA884

US passport issues are generally discussed in the USA forum.

I'll move this thread there.

TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator

flyerCO

Call DoS and they should be willing to replace it. If not contact the US PS and tell them the passport is destroyed. They should be able to get this fixed.

Note the visible damage is just part of it. The chip is probably also damaged and thus the passport won't read.

Often1

Don't let the money issue get in the way of the replacement issue. The passport has to be replaced for all of the above reasons. Even if you get stuck paying (which you won't), it still has to be replaced.

Just call to the Passport Agency people on Monday. Not sure why you are so negative in advance, they tend to be very helpful and your situation is neither the first nor the last.

Just tell them that your passport arrived severely damaged with a note from USPS. Ask for instructions. Don't even raise the cost issue. Almost a certainty that you will be asked to return the damaged passport and a new one will be issued.

Cat Man Do

thanks, all. thats about what I thought. Phone call on the todo list for tomorrow.

Cat Man Do

Thanks. Wasn't quite sure where it'd go.

Cat Man Do

Update:
Called in yesterday (Monday) morning. The agent I spoke with was indeed quite helpful. She said I'd need to send in the damaged passport, and a statement explaining the event and requesting a reprint.

She provided a different shipping address, as the usual one she had initially provided was not the actual location which would be working on it. There would have been an extra delay for intra-governmental transit.

I shipped it out via FedEx priority overnight, which was strangely only about $2 more than standard overnight.

I called in this afternoon to check on status, since I'd managed to send off a written statement which did not actually include my phone number. They've already printed the replacement, and provided a USPS tracking number. With any luck, the replacement passport won't be mangled in the machinery again.

My initial negativity was probably a result of mostly dealing with TSA and CBP. It seems that neither agency has had a stellar, or even a mediocre record of dealing with the unexpected.

Cat Man Do

Well car*p.

No, it's not in the mail. The tracking number she gave me was the original tracking number, of the damaged passport.

guv1976

"I shipped it out via FedEx priority overnight, which was strangely only about $2 more than standard overnight."

OT, but depending where you shipped it from, and where it was going, UPS' cheapest service ("Ground") guarantees next-day delivery. Check the time-in-transit info at ups.com for any potential shipment.

Cat Man Do

Cross-country, so that would not have worked.
That, and being a former FedEx employee, I'm familiar with their services and still have some loyalty.

Cat Man Do

Update:

Called on the 17th and was told it was in-process, and that I could check online, but no ETA available.
It was not online. Agent said I could call in to check any time, and assured me they could see status.
Apparently not, as it turns out it had already been shipped out.
On a hunch, I turned around and followed the UPS truck that passed me a block after I left the house. Sure enough, he dropped off my new undamaged passport.
So turnaround for a US-Gov-damaged passport? 5 days, including shipping (overnight) both ways.

Pretty darn good, I'd say.

kristylu13

Hi All-

I received my new passport a couple of weeks ago, gave it a quick check (to ensure that the info was correct) and pulled it out again today to book a trip for the week after next. As I looked at the passport more carefully, I realize that there are actually a couple of white splotches on the photo. I'm trying to figure out if A) it needs to be replaced and; B) if so, is it doable in such a short period of time? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.