jamieah

Our trip to Barbados is coming up in 1 week. We dropped off our applications & birth certificates which were looked over thoroughly & approved (we gladly paid the extra for expedited service). I tracked the status of our applications via internet & got the message that they were processed & we would receive them on or about 9/27. A few days after 9/27 I called to say they haven't arrived & was told that they were never processed due to incorrect birth certificate forms. These were the originals our parents had. We never received a phone call or letter which we were told should have happened. I've been working all week on getting the correct certificates & overnighted them to the passport agency. Now I found out that the post office had me fill out the wrong forms that I needed to get a name of the person who accepted the delivery so I won't know with whom to follow up. And then I found out that Monday is a holiday which will delay delivery another day! Has anyone had difficulties getting their passport & has anyone had to cancel their trip because of this? Does anyone have any advice on what I can do to get everything done quickly?

ALR

There are passport companies that will review your documents, send them in for you, and have them back to you in an expedited time frame. I've used them in D.C. for a group. Try the yellow pages of your phone book to see if there's a service available. There is a fee for the service, which varies by company, but it may be worth it.

tivertonhouse

PASSPORT PLUS:1.800.367.1818
NH Passport Express:1.800.841.6778
Both are expediting services with 2-3 day delivery.

WaywardSeal

Have you gone to the state dept. website? http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html.
They give explicit directions to handle travel within 14 days without a passport. If you're close enough to a regional passport center you can make an appoinment and recive it in person.
Ironiclly I took advantage of this service yesterday to renew my wifes for a last second trip we just planned. It took her about 15 minutes.

WaywardSeal

Please disregard my above post; I posted it by accident before I was finished or proof read.
Have you gone to the state dept. website? http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html.
They give explicit directions to handle travel within 14 days without a passport. If you're close enough to a regional passport center (I think there’s 12) you can make an appointment and receive it in person. All the info to do this is on the website; or call 877-487-2778.
I would try this route first; use a special service if not.
Ironically I took advantage of the in person appointment system yesterday to renew my wife’s for a last second trip we just planned. I think it took her 15 minutes.

sara1274

Can you see about getting a new expedidited official birth certifcate issued by the State you were born in? This may be quicker and then just have to have government issued photo ID.

Tuxedocat

When we have passport problems we contact our local passport office (Stamford, CT). The process has changed over the years, but as Wayward Seal points out, they have websites and telephone numbers. They can tell you how to get a new or replace lost passports with short notice. You have to get everything together (including proof of travel plans, "certified" birth certificates,etc.), make an appointment, bring it to them in person, and they can sometimes turn it around in 24 hours. You must be willing to make the application in person and pick up in person. But hurry!

francot

Tuxedocat - I have seen you on this board for years. I never realized you were in CT. I work in Wilton and live in Blackrock. It is strange to think that as I am reading your posts (which I do often because they are so informative)you are right down the road. I usually feel like everyone on these boards are on the other side of the country or world.

jamieah

Hi everyone. I've been on the phone all day trying to get things moving along. I spoke with people at NPIC. A week ago they were saying they would call Chicago, where our applications are, & have them process them as soon as they receive our proper birth certificates. The post office said our birth cert. arrived 9:12AM today but they don't know yet who signed for them. The person I spoke with at NPIC today said a message was put in the computer & they can't do any more for 72 hrs. I wish I got the person I spoke with earlier this week. She seemed more willing to help expedite things. Because this is a holiday weekend, I was told I may not get them in time. I called the travel agent but she didn't have anything to offer. I'd call my congressman but I don't know if that would help & I'm too exhausted from this stress to make another call.

escargot

you will get it done. go in person if you have to. call again if you have to until and find a nice person who will sympathize. it can be done b/c once i had the opportunity to go on a last minute trip requiring passport to london and had let my passport expire. I went in person and walked out with it in 30 minutes. wehrever your local office is it is looking like it would be worth the drive.

jamieah

escargot, thanks for the positive encouragement. I'm not sure I understand what the different passport centers do. There are the places scattered around the country that process applications (passport agencies) & the places where we take our applications to be forwarded (passport centers) to agencies. We live in North Carolina & the closest agency is in Washington, DC. Unfortunately, we sent our birth certificates to Chicago where our applications are, so we can't drive up to DC to get our passports w/o birth cert. I did end up calling our congressman but it was already late in the afternoon & someone is to call me Tues morning. Are you saying there is a way we could have gotten our passports in person locally?

escargot

I don't know about N.Carolina, but in Massachusetts if you are willing to drive to Boston, you can make an appt at that Passport offic ein city hall and in emergency situations (last minute travel plans) they do passports. wayward seal posted the us gov't web site earlier in this thread - go there and there is a place you can click on getting a passport in person and it tells you the closest place to you. there is a # to call and you make an appt. - but i went that time w/out an appt b/c they were all booked and they took me anyway. there is no reason in todays technological society to not be able to get your passport, altho things ihave gotten a bit stricter post 9/11, - like I lost mine last summer in DC and they would only replace it for one year, and i just had that one replaced and they did it for 5 yrs.....but you can get this done. be persistent. go on the web page, maybe there is an office in NC in the capital, i don't know how far you are from there, but overnight and overnight back and you shoujdl be able to I would think. but if yuo get prickly employees they could just think too bad, it's just for a vaca, so we can't - but you should be able to find someone nice.

Tuxedocat

Hi Francot: we hail from the great capitol of Hartford. We actually have legions of rabid St. John fans up here.
Jamieah: I don't know if this is possible under your circumstances, but the airlines are actually very helpful. I forgot our passports at home one time on the way to France. I went to the American Airlines counter and tearfully explained that I had left the passports at home (2 hours away) and the manager put us on a flight for the next day, no extra cost and the seats were actually better. Get the travel agent to jump on the horn with the airline and hotel/accommodations. There's no such thing as a complete disaster, only mishaps. I once had to wait on a standby list in Hong Kong for 28 hours which could have been longer due to our travel agent's fault, until I bullied my way into the available first class seats. Keep trying. We're all sending you good vibes.

Tuxedocat

Haven't heard from jamieah in a couple of days. Hope all is working out for you.

jamieah

I'm just sitting tight here - because of the holiday weekend nothing has been getting done. My congressman's office is supposed to call tomorrow morning to get the details so they can follow up for me. I called the post office to get the name of the person who signed for the envelope with our birth certificates but I haven't heard back yet. I'll let all of you know as soon as I hear anything.

tripster

I hate to be mean, but why would didn't you just get a passport BEFORE you plan your trip?
Then you could travel where you want and your congressman could go back to sleep for another 2 years

MuyLinda

tripster - I'm a total passport supporter but not all travel agents are great at recommending them and some islands don't require them so sometimes it's not the first thing on a travelers mind when planning their vacation. Possibly this is jamieah's case?? I don't know. I just know I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a quick resolution for her so she can go on vacation and enjoy.

jamieah

This is all new to us & we've been learning as we go. Why didn't our travel agent ask us if we have passports & tell us that it would be so involved? We were told when we dropped off our applications that we definetely would get them in 2 weeks (that was 9/10). The passport website said our applications were processed & we would receive them by 9/27. I want to inform others what is going on with us so they can learn from our experience. Thanks to everyone who has shared info with us.

jamieah

I didn't think to mention that we got an e-mail on great fall rates to the Caribbean - it seems these are going out in abundance. For once I thought I'd be spontaneous (my husband has been wanting to do something special for my 50th birthday) and called sunfinder vacations for info before I booked. Problem is, you don't always know which questions to ask. First timers won't be aware if they are choosing these last minute deals. I'm trying to find other messages that seem to be doing the same thing. NPIC said many people are not getting their passports in time. Can you help me get the word out if you see a similar situation? I found this site yesterday:
http://www.americanpassport.com/NYT_2003.html

jamieah

I just called NPIC & was told that they are working on my application. I asked if I would get it by Friday to which she replied "did you enclose a return envelope". I told her no one told me to but I did pay for overnight delivery. It would have been SO helpful if I was told everything up front instead of in bits & pieces along the way. Just another tip for anyone needing their passport quickly.

I can't thank all of you enough for your positive words & good wishes - it really does help.