Looking for some more current information on approximately how long expedited passports have been taking to process. My husband and I have finally convinced my parents to take a cruise with us the first week of June after pleading with them for the past three years. Of course, they finally said yes! Any information anyone has would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

I need to clarify.....this is the first passport that my parents have ever had. Thanks.

If the cruise departs from the U.S. and you are a U.S. citizen, I'm pretty sure that you don't need a passport, just a certified birth certificate and i.d. if departures are by land or sea for the time being. I read an article that the cruise industry did an effective job lobbying when the Western Hemispheres Travel Initiative was announced, so although air travel to places that did not previously require passports for U.S. citizens e.g., many Caribbean islands, Mexico, Canada, has changed as result of the new initiative, the cruise industry is exempted until at least 2008 I believe.

Here is a link that you can read the exact language:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html

You need to check on this page:
http://travel.state.gov/

and go to the link where you can find the office nearest you, and I would guess you should do an expedited passport and still, there are horror stories of them running weeks behind - so I think it would be best if they could actually get their photos and go to an office near them and send it out tomorrow expedited -

if you put 'passports' into the blank search this forum bar at the top of the page, you will see several recent posts about passports

my sister applied for passport renewal, opted for the expedited processing. it has been 3 weeks - she still has not received her passport. hope this gives you an idea of the backlog. she called to follow up on status of her passport, she was on hold for more than 30 mins. and when she finally got a live person, she was told that they have an unusually heavy back log of passport applications due to the new ruling of required passport to canada and mexico

It took me six weeks to get a passport without doing the expedited process.

As Mah1980 said read the state dept's site. There is info that states that if your are traveling by land/sea from the U.S. and you are a citizen, you can still use your birth certificate and photo id. As it stands now, this will remain in effect until January 2008 and perhaps longer.

Arecent piece in the "Washington Post" said that expedited passports could now take twice as long as they used to and that the normal processing time for passports has more or less doubled since so many new applications have ben received.

I took my 5 yr old to have her passport renewed on 20March, paid for expedited service, plus overnight mail there and back (which equals a small fortune!), and received it 31March!! Way to work,U.S. government!!

In the European forum, folks are talking about the 'fact' that recent newspaper accounts say that a regular request for passport renewal is taking up to 12 weeks to process.

Unfortunately, it is largely because folks wait until the last minute and then scramble.

If you live near a passport office, then go yourselves. Otherwise, expedite is the only way to be sure.

There are also services, located in areas where a passport renewal can be done in person, that will charge you a small fortune to have the passport 'walked' through the process.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/04/03/passports.ap/

Aboost in staffing and overtime and weekend hours at the 17 passport agencies has succeeded in reducing some processing delays that had threatened a huge number of overseas vacations for Americans and sparked congressional concern, it said.

Expedited applications, which require an additional fee, will now again be processed in two weeks, down from four at the height of the crisis. Standard applications will still take ten weeks, the department said.

My wife put in for renewal. It has been over 8 weeks now! If I had to do it over I would have opted for expedite service.
PS: Getting a bit nervous and went to the Govt. Passport site. You can see at least if they have a record of reciept of the passport! They do, and still say that 10 weeks will be the norm!
John

We just received our passports. It took 9 weeks to recieve them, but we did not have them expedited. I think if you have it expedited you should be fine.

I don't know what service he used, but a co-worker's son just got his expedited passport after waiting for only one week.

Why not call someone who has years of experience and ask them what the current status is? I would (and have) paid for expedited service for peace of mind.

www.visalady.com

http://www.visalady.us/us-passports-adults-never.html

Here's a step by step explanation of the process. I am not affiliated with the above service in any way - other than they have helped me, friends, and associates get problems resolved quickly.

There's no need to pay visalady or any other agency a fee to get your passport~the fees collected by the US govt. are high enough. Check online (www.travel.state.gov) for the nearest acceptance facility near you, and go drop all your stuff off. What do these people charge, anyway, out of curiosity?

There is no need if there are no time constraints. People use expeditors when they don't live near a walk-in center and they need a passport in a hurry (family emergency, lost passport, unexpected trip, etc.) The cost depends on how fast the turnaround time. If you don't need a expiditor, then don't pay for one.

My suggestion was to call them to answer the OP question. The link was to be helpful to the OP to let her know what she'll need to get together for her parents' first passports.

amydelta....If you use a "service" you pay the regular fees, plus their fee..Usually depends on how long the preocess takes..1 to 2 Business Days around $175 - 200 per item. If you can give them say 2 weeks, then the fee is anywhere from $50 - 75 per item.Then if they have to deliver it to you, there's another fee, or overnight, you get the pic.

Yikes! Sounds like an awful lot of $$ for something that you can easily do yourself. Maybe I should get a new job....hmmmmmm

amydelta....My TA tells me that almost 100% of his referrals to that type of business are corporate travellers.They can afford the service fees.And I would guess that is exactly the type of clientele a vis agency would want.