julies

I'm posting this here (because this is a much more active forum) and on the Asia board (which is where we're actually going). I need a visa, and I just realized my passport is nearly full. The US govt. website says it takes 6 weeks to get pages added. Does it REALLY take that long now, or is this just a cover your number figure on their part? If you've just dealt with the passport agency, I'd like to har from you. Thanks much. I guess I am trying to figure out if I really need to pay them the $60 for expedited service.

Travelnut

I renewed my passport last spring and it indeed took about 5 weeks to get it back (sent it out in January for a May trip).

Sher

We sent ours in June, although it did not expire until Jan. 2007.
It took a full six weeks for our renewal.

HappyTrvlr

We renewed our passports in August; it took six weeks. I believe a faster priority option at twice the cost was offered.

jill_h

You can pay the $60 for expedited service, or you can take it yourself if you can get to a passport office. My husband was AT the airport for a trip to Africa when the agent told him his passport had expired 4 months prior!!! Of course it was a Friday afternoon -- he made an appointment with the passport office in Houston, booked a flight, made his 8:30 appt. at the passport office, and was out of there by 10:30 a.m. (Of course, the part of the story that was left out was when we were filling out the renewal passport information form, we realized his driver's license had also expired!!!) Thankfully we were able to renew that online!! Needless to say, it cost us WAY more than $60!!

julies

Thanks. After giving it some thought I guess I wasn't even thinking logically when I was wondering about whether or not to just pay the $60. I'd really be up the creek if I didn't get it back promptly. Plus, I just realized the Christmas peak mail season will be starting soon, and that always slows things down.

blackduff

I just recently had my passport renewed. It spent almost the whole six weeks for renewal. The passport was sent to Marseille, via the express mail and it returned on the same method. I didn't use any expedited manner.

Six weeks goes quickly, even I needed the passport earlier.

Before I had a thick passport. The new passport is one of the skinny documents means I'll have to get extra pages in the near future. I wonder why they don't check what was used previously.

Blackduff

Dukey

I renewed mine this time of year about a year ago and it took 23 days from start to finish.

Are you doing this just to get new pages?

I have visa stamps all over the place in mine and some have obliterated others...."nearly full" isn't the same "totally full."

Heimdall

I had extra pages added to my passport at a US Embassy, and it was all done while I waited. That may not be a practical proposition for you, though.

Dukey has a good point - there is usually enough room for a few extra stamps even if your passport appears to be nearly full.

grimmy

I guess we were luckier than most. We sent ours off Oct.23. I checked here http://travel.state.gov/passport/get...atus_2567.html about a week later learning that it would be sent out on Dec 12. I was very surprised and pleased to find them in my mailbox last Friday.

julies

I understand the point about always finding room for more entrance & exit stamps. We're looking at a trip to Vietnam, and I need to get a real visa which is apparently pasted in and thus requires at least a full page that is empty. I have to say though I don't know why they couldn't just paste these things on top of some old entry/exit stamps.

I've been reading the US passport site, so here is a thought for people who are renewing. The site says that if you are a frequent traveller you can also request a passport that has more pages than usual when you renew. There is no extra charge for this.

GSteed

I obtained a new passport in Washington, D.C., in one day! I otained a new passport in Poland in one week. Find the locations of offices that issue passports. It may be quite easy to visit one instead of using postal services.

Heimdall

Julies, if you need a full blank page then that's a different proposition. I have an Indian visa in my passport that was pasted onto a full page, so I know what you mean. Good luck on getting those extra pages in time. IMO the extra $60 would be a small price to pay for insuring your trip isn't compromised.

SAnParis

We just ordered our new passports & rec'v'd them in less than a month.

kerouac

I sent mine off for renewal last week. I don't know when I'll get the new one, but they only took 2 days to debit my credit card at the American Embassy in Paris.

kerouac

Okay, my passport arrived today -- normal, not expedited service. So in Paris it takes less than a week to renew a passport by mail. It used to take 2 hours when you could renew them in person.

If I might be allowed a minor rant, I would like to point out that I did not receive a biometric passport, whereas the US demands this of other countries.

letour

Just renewed my son's. We opted to expedite since we were exactly at the 6-week margin--always happens that way! Came in about 2 weeks, arriving yesterday. Sounds like the lines aren't quite so long now, but I tend to pay the extra just to buy that peace of mind. I wish that I had thought about going to a passport office, if that's cheaper, but no one suggested that at the post office.

logandog

Mailed it out 10-06-06. Got it back 11-03-06.

GrannyPaige

We applied for renewal passports in September and it took less than 3 weeks. You can track it online after you mail them in and they will give you a date as to when to expect to receive it. Our date was a 6 week timeframe but we received it much sooner. We applied early because we had heard it was taking a long time. Our TA actually fudged on our departure date for an upcoming trip so they would not sit on them, maybe that helped.

floydvic

22 days in October is the short answer in my situation.