U.S. Passport Renewal Rejected for Photo and I Can't Find Out Why
 

I sent the Passport Agency a renewal application for my husband and followed all of the all the instructions to the letter. The $110 check was cashed and then two weeks later we received his passport and application back with a rejection letter, citing that the photos 'were not acceptable'. The photos were professionally done, met the no-eyeglass, neutral expression and face size requirements. One photo was stapled to the application as required and I confirmed that the second identical photo did not need to be supplied with the application. I called the agency information line and the recorded voce told me they could not provide an application update information on the phone; I would need to go online to travel.state.gov to get status updates. I went there and also was advised they couldn't give an update there.

We went to our local post office and spoke with a with a person who has been processing applications and taking passport photos there for many years. He could see no reason for the app to be rejected. He said this was the third rejection this week he experienced, with no apparent errors. The agency is overwhelmed with applications, but I find it incredible to think they use rejections as a tool to thin the workload. His only insight was that the photo may have been a tiny bit darker than the old passport's photo.

Has anyone here run into this issue and what did you do? How do you find out what is needed to ensure the application isn't bounced again? We are calling our state representatives for help. I hate throwing away another $110 to submit another photo (or several different photos) in hopes that one will be acceptable.

Thank you

T2

I don't have good advice on the photo. Without seeing it, it's impossible to guess what may be wrong -- and it sounds like you've already had experienced people look at it. It could simply be that the adjudicator made a mistake.

However, you shouldn't have to pay another fee. I am not having much luck finding official information from the Department of State, but I did find this article from USA Today that states you have 90 days to submit a new photo to go with your original application. If the rejection notice didn't come with instructions, I would ask your senator or congressman's office for assistance.

But it is still possible. My guess is while the photo complies with the requirement, for some reasons, it can't be scanned into the system. Hence, the rejection. Maybe there was a gloss finish on the photo or something?

Thank you for your input on the photo and 90-day window. After digging some more, it looks like the photo was a little dark and matches a 'bad' example for color of background. We'll get another photo taken with the white background and make another run at it. No instructions on the rejection letter - will call all those congress people again.