beaupeep

My husband and I are traveling from Switzerland to Colorado in November and his US passport expires in August. I am making him renew it now!

mrkindallas

I finally got through to the passport office yesterday. I'd tried calling several times, but kept getting a message telling me that they were too busy and it would automatically hang up on me. I decided to just hit "0" everytime I got a new automated message. I think I only had to hit it twice and finally got through to the waiting queue. Had to hold for about 45 minutes before speaking to someone and the first thing she asked was my travel date. I explained that it's not until the end of May, but I'm concerned because I submitted my application 5 weeks ago and it's still not showing up online even though they are reporting that it should show up within 3 weeks. She looked me up and said that it was entered in their system on March 28th and that it doesn't have a batch number yet, but I should have it by the end of April. She said that if I don't have it by the first of May, to call back. She also verified that they had my address right in their system. So, I feel a little better now that I know they have actually opened the mail.

Karina1

Jazzblue,
I know exactly how you feel. I don't want to be running around getting a passport 2 weeks prior to departure.
And the scary thing is that I tried to use the only number they give you for the 24 hr automated number that you need to call to make an appointment in the San Francisco passport office and the number does not work. They are too busy...call again. I tried 4 times !!
So, what happens if you can't even reach their office to make an appointment 2 weeks prior to leaving ???

I am still not sure I can expedite it once it's in the system. I've been given different answers on that. One said I could not do it and another person told me to call next week to expedite it.
It's so damn frustrating.
And my application still does not show up on line for me but I was told it's in THEIR system!
Let' all hope for the best
Karina

cupid1

I'm so sorry you're having so much trouble, Karina. Have my fingers crossed for it to turn out well fo ryou. I've done both expedited replacement & regular renewal and know how scary waiting is as days tick by. Both came in plenty of time, though.

The system breakdown is due to the crush of applications from the million or so Spring Breakers who now need passports under the new rules to get drunk and sunburned in the Carribean and Mexico (seems Florida is passe').

Karina1

Another bad news.
I finally was able to access the automated recorded system and ask for an appointment as if I were leaving within 14 days.
Well, NO APPOINTMENTS WERE AVAILABLE !!
What are people supposed to do??
Karina

laartista

This happened to my friend the other day. She is going to Mexico this week, lives in NY and turned her passport in for a Russian Visa that she needs for her Flight attendent job. Well with no passport for Mexico on Wed. and no appts. in NYC passport office available, she finally called a friend that works for a senator who has a passport task force team. She flew to DC yesterday to get the letter from the Senators office and over to passport agency in DC and has a second temporary passport in hand for Mexico. Seems alot of legislator offices, Senators and Congressmen have teams in place to help with the passports because of the back up due to new rules for Canada and Mexico.

NotMe

I sent in my passport renewal at the end of January. My check was cashed about 4 weeks later. As we are leaving at the end of this month for Ireland, I've been regularly checking the status of my application on their website. Today, it finally indicated the passport had been issued and that I should receive it on April 11th. So the 10 weeks is a pretty accurate estimate of how long it takes if you don't ask for expedited service.

Jazzblues1

Well, I talked to someone again at the passport agency yesterday. This time, they were still unable to give me an estimate of when I will get it. They said they would send a message to the processing center telling them to expedite it for free, but they still could not give me a guarantee that I would have it anytime soon. Also, after asking the lady to read off all the information they had in thier system, I figured out that they had my social security number entered incorrectly in the system, which explains why I was not able to pull my info up on the online tracker. The lady I talked to was very nice, but did not seem to grasp the importance of making sure they had the correct social security number (hello!?? don't you think that having the WRONG social security number in the system might hold things up a bit!?).

When I checked my status online (ha! using the incorrect social security number!) it says that my application has been recieved, but that's all. No estimated time of delivery or anything.

My trip is in less than a month. I applied for this stupid thing 10 weeks ago, and I have no indication of when I will be getting it. I sure hope that I get it in the next couple weeks, or I am going to be one seriously ticked off traveller!

Karina1

Hi Jazz
I can sense the frustration in your post. I feel the same way. Yesterday I contacted the passort office and the very nice lady who answered took my Visa card information and told me that she would send the information so that my passport would be expedited. At the time I talked to her, my application still had not showed up on line but I had been told that they do have it in their system.
Later last night, my application showed up on their website and said it had been received and that it would be a ROUTINE process !! it would take up to 10 weeks from the date of application.
Have you talked to your congress person?
Mine is working on my case now.
Keep us posted, Jazz.
Karina (also going to Paris, hopefully)

NotMe

Received my passport yesterday as the web site indicated I would. It was 10 weeks. Glad I don't have to worry about it anymore. Good luck to everyone else who is waiting.

Karina1

Notme,
Congratulations. You must be so relieved.
it was 10 weeks from when? when you mailed the application or when it showed up on line?
karina

bridonohue

just to give another perspective, applied for my kid's passport in a post office in washington dc, payed for expedited service, but not shipment. got his passport 12 days later.

CarolA

"The system breakdown is due to the crush of applications from the million or so Spring Breakers who now need passports under the new rules to get drunk and sunburned in the Carribean and Mexico (seems Florida is passe')."

Might have been a bad excuse in March, but NOW... Spring break season is almost over so I don't think it's those kids wanting to get drunk. It's just the fact that if you run an incompetent agency and something happens to stress the system the INCOMPETENCE rises to the top..... I see it a lot with system installations......

I would be contacting my Congressperson/Senator DAILY if needed to get my passport. It's their JOB to assist you!

Karina1

Update...
Today it shows on line that I requested &quot;expedited service&quot; (that's after I called the passport office on 4-11 to give them my Visa card number) and that it would take <b>4 weeks</b> from the date I applied.
Does anyone know what they mean by the date I &quot;applied&quot; ?
I was on hold last night for over one hour and no one ever came on line, so I gave up.
karina

LHS

I applied 2/9, received it 4/13, exactly 9 weeks.

My daughter applied 3/9 and it is now in the system.

Jazzblues1

LHS, when is your travel date? Also, did you call for expedited service?

LHS

Not expedited at this time.

We're planning on traveling this summer, no date, because my daughter has a class in Costa Rica, without a set date as of yet. I was simply planning ahead. My daughter will need hers by mid-June.

Then my husband dicovered his expired 3/07, so in my family, only my younger daughter had a valid passport. When I called her (she's at an university 10 hours away) that I had received mine, she said &quot;You &amp; me, mom, par-tay.&quot;

sabnyc

I waited until exactly one month before my trip (which is this friday) to apply for my passport. i had it expedited and received my passport in just under two weeks. I honestly didn't expect it until the week of my trip if not about the day before or so.

nutjobz

We recently had a problem with my daughter's passport. I checked regularly at the website, and the date of issue kept pushing back until it was past the date we were leaving.
In the end I had to go to the PP office in DC twice to get it. I called several times to the PP desk at the State Department &amp; faxed lots of info to get the PP.
Be calm but firm and have copies of all your documents because they will not listen and then will try to put you in the wrong.

Karina1

yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh !!

I checked the status on line today and it indicates that our passports have been mailed and I should receive them on or about 4/21/2007.
I am so happy.

To summarize, I had mailed my application on 3-13 WITHOUT paying the expedited fee. I was able to call last week and pay the expedited fee with my Visa card.

I also had called my congressman's office and his staff had contacted someone at the passport office and also gave my VISA card number for the expedited process. I am not sure if the process went faster because of the congressman.

One piece of advice I have is not to take &quot;no&quot; for an answer. At one time, I was told that I would never be able to expedite it since I did not request it initially. That was inaccurate. You have to keep calling until you get the right answer

Jazz, I hope you also get some positive results. Let us know, OK?
Karina