Stolen passport
 

In January of this year my passport was stolen at Geneva Airport. The next day
I went to the American Embassy in Bern for
a replacement. The passport was good for 6 months. I sent it to Washington DC on May 16. I had planned a trip to Switzerland for
January 2008 so put that as a trip date. Now I have a chance to go to Italy for a month around June 21st. Of course I can't go without a passport. On the goverment web site I put my information down and it shows it hasn't even started. I sent it overnight and included an overnight return. What do I do now?

With the crunch of passport requests, it's at the bottom of the list if you didn't ask for expedited service. Even then, they're far, far behind in processing. After seeing a lot of posts on this subject, the consensus seems to be to either 1) go to a passport office in person (with new photos etc in hand) or 2) go through your Senator/Representative's office for assistance.

seems everyone is talking about calling your congressperson.

seems to work.
or you need to duplicate all documents and go to nearest office to get it in person with proof of travel.

lots of threads about this. do a search.

Call your nearest passport office for an appointment. Take a copy of your ticket or the itinerary sent by your airline, plus a certified copy of your birth certificate and some pictures. They can have it the same day.

Thanks for all the replys! I am in a "no win" situation. I don't want to purchase tickets before my passport arrives. I guess I am just out of luck.

baja - I'm not sure I agree with that. I do know of people who have gotten them by going to a passport office (with ID and photos) even if travel plans are a few weeks out. Many passport offices are creating a separate line for those that need them "immediately" (in which case you have to show them tickets, etc), but others are getting them that day - it just takes all day. If I had an opportunity for a month in Italy, I'd sure try waiting in that line.

Thanks DFR but I would be unable to show airline tickets since I am not buying them until the darn passport
shows up. Sometimes I feel so stupid.

someone suggested before of buyig a refundable ticket, then getting passport and re-booking.

t

Question.......
When travelling overseas, is it better to keep your passport with you at all times or risk keeping it in your hotel? I do not think our hotel has a safe.....just wondering what others do.

I had my citizenship papers stolen in the Bahamas. It took fifteen years to get a replacement. In the mean time, I couldn't leave the country. Actually, I could have left, I just wouldn't have been able to come back. I sure hope you have better luck with your passport replacement.:)

baja - sorry, I realize my comment wasn't very clear. I've heard of people who went to a passport office that were able to get passports without showing tickets - they just weren't able to get into the "urgent" line. While it did take them all day, they still got them. Not sure if this is true at all passport offices. Just a thought.

Also, I'm sure you saw the news report this morning about relaxing the requirement for passports for Canada, Carribbean, etc. That may ease up the cruch for people in your situation.

Thanks to all that responded. I am unable to take the trip. My husband is fly fishing in Montana and I thought it would be fun to "escape" and be back before his return. Of course he would be furious because I'm sure he would have liked to go also. Our next trip is in January 08 so hopefully the darn passport will have arrived before then.
Thanks again for all the good suggestions.

Sorry you couldn't make it but thanks for the update.

UPDATE: My new passport arrived yesterday. Three months after my
application.

You will never forget a stolen passport. I am still stopped at US immigration and questioned every time I enter the country, even though the incident was almost 12 years ago. I guess they just don't trust the passports they issue.