48 Page New Passport = $110
24 Page Insert = $82

I fail to see how this is anywhere near reasonable.

I have only added pages 1x before, (@ Japan Embassy) it takes about 30 min of processing time total, and some paper and tape. I could see a $20-$25 USD fee, $82 Seriously?

I was able to get two inserted before the price increase. Instead of putting a note or sticky requesting two sets, I used my well-developed living inside Chile bureaucracy sense and filled out TWO forms with a note to add two. :)

Current time frame?
 

Any data points on the current time frame for getting pages added? I'm trying to decide if the $60 expediting fee is necessary.

I leave my home on December 17th, leaving the US on the 27th for two weeks in Africa. The State Dept website says 4-6 weeks for processing, but that appears to be for new passports, not just pages added.

Or am I better off waiting until 2 weeks before my trip and scheduling an appointment at a local passport office?

I'm kind of curious about this too. I actually just sent mine in last week and just used standard processing. But I leave on the 27th too ... for Africa too. :)

guys above, not sure how long it will take, but it may be easier/cheaper to just get a new passport. any existing visas should still be valid, just carry both.

Policies have changed. On the website there is the $82 fee. I was told by the US Consulate where I added two extra page sets to my 48 page passport (you can get 48 page instead of 24 page by simply requesting it with passport issueance; if you had pages added to your expiring one they seem to give the larger one automatically) I was told that three is the maximum number of insterts that can now be added. Adding at a Consulate is usually faster and less cumbersome than it is by the US Passport Agency, so doing it abroad would be my choice, preferably in a small consulate. That is, I would not try to do it in, say, London. Someplace like Sana'a or Riga would be ideal, a small consular office that is not overloaded with US Citizen Services. BTW, always remember that US Citizen Services bypasses the hoards of non-US citizens applying for visas, so don't join the long line. http://travel.state.gov/passport/cor...d/add_850.html

Would also suggest just doing it at the embassy if you are going to a city that has one... took about 30 minutes when I did it. Still costs $82 though. Grr.

Well, quick update: I sent my passport in on Monday, November 8th to have extra pages added, and it showed up today. An eight-day turnout, and that's NOT using the expedited service!

Just double checking: If i send my older style passport (without the chip) in to get pages added they'll send that one back with the new pages. Or will I be required to get one with a chip?

Correct, they will still send back your old, chip-less passport. The new pages are just taped in-between the middle of your old pages so you'll still have all your stamps too if you're a collector of them.

I added pages today at the Chicago processing center. Had an appt at 9 am and picked up passport at 1 pm. They added 2 sets of additional pages (24x2).

Rather than spend the $82 for the extra pages, can I just renew my passport early and pay the $110? My passport expires Nov 2013 and I have two pages left and then the three Amendments and Endorsements pages (can I use those for entry/exit stamps if needed. I really don't think I will be in any countries that require a visa in the next two years.

Just got more pages
 

I am not sure of the answer; I thought the same as you did. However, I just got more pages instead. I think you can only renew when you are about to expire within 6 months. I think I read on the passport website something to that effect, and so that's why I could not renew. It is very quick. I submitted it on January 3rd, and it came back to me last week. Standard US mail. Very fast.

I don't see why you couldn't renew early.

Alternatively you can file for a lost or stolen passport. If they ask how you lost it, tell them you are a drug mule and had it stolen last time you were in Columbia. This will save you the $82 or $110 required for a new passport.

Did this cost you $82 or $164