Passport Renewal
 

Does anyone know how long it is taking to renew a passport AND do I need to give my current one up while applying for a new one?

I'm interested in this too. (I know the passport site probably has the info, but fodorites with experience are so much more interesting. :-)

And is the new passport dated upon the old one's expiration? Mine expires next March. If I send it in early, I forfeit 1/2 a year. On the other hand, if I wait to late, I might not get to go on an impulsive trip to one of the countries that require a passport with 6 months still on it!!!

Plus, I hate to entrust it to the passport office this summer. It might be March before it comes back...

Yes- you must send in the old one to get a new one. As for how long it will take - read the posts - it sounds like at least 12 weeks unless you pay for expedited.

New applications are taking up to 13 or more weeks (routine, not expedited service). Not sure about renewals.

The new passport date will be the day the issue it, with not connection to the old passport expiration date.

Renewals are also taking at least 12 weeks, and even 5-6 weeks if you pay the extra $60 for expedited handling.

We mailed ours in on April 10 and don't have them yet (of course, it has "only" been 9 weeks).

And, yes, you have to send in your old passport when you renew.

Report on the National news tonight says some people who had Passports delayed may be eligble for a refund..

send the paperwrk in and I wonder how long you wait for that?????

Sorry..I just can't resist...makes you wonder about a country when law abiding people can't get in or out..and the nonlaw abiding people have no trouble going in & out...in fact we PAY to put them on airplanes and fly them out of the country...they don;t need a passport..

OK got that of my chest.

The time s/b getting shorter now that they will not require passports for people flying to Mexico/Canada. The big rush for people to get passports that never had them is why they have been taking so long.

As nytraveler and J62 said: send in the old one, it gets punched to make it invalid and then sent back to you with the new one; new one is date of issue, not date old one expired.

If you're willing to pay the money and are close enough to a Dept of State Passport Agency, you can wait until the very last minute to get your new passport. You must prove that you are departing the country within 14 days (i.e., ticket or e-ticket confirmation). You call a toll-free number and make an appointment, and can pick it up the same day. You also can expedite in this manner if you need your passport in advance of your trip in order to get a required visa for the country, but if you're not flying out within 14 days, you will have to wait for them to mail it to you (you can pay for express mail shipping).

I just did this and it cost $143: passport renewal fee, expedite fee, and $16 for express mail. It's enough of an expense that IMO I'd only do it if you have to (as I did), but it does help if you need to be flexible and are worried about the turnaround time.

Go to travel.state.gov and click on Passport Agencies for locations and the toll-free number.

(BTW, the Dept of State has had this service even before the recent snafus with renewal. It's a good resource to remember in case of those last-minute trips!)

Good luck!

Can anyone use the expedited service.
We leave Sept 11.

We applied for my son's passport 14 weeks ago. He leaves for Italy Monday (hopefully) but his passport has not arrived. Our congressman's office has been working with us for 2 weeks. What a nightmare!

Katiemay,
I don't think there is a restriction on who can do expedited (ex. people leaving within 30 days). I was just looking into this for my boss.
Here is more info:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/get...first_831.html

We are leaving on Sept 11. Our passport expires on Feb 8, 2008. We
get conflicting info from the consulate
general's office for Poland re whether
the passport date has to be 6 mo out
from date of return.
Can you use the expedite service just
because you want to, or does the travel
have to be within 2 or 3 weeks.
t

oops, I didn't think my questions had
been posted.
Has anyone used in of the website
services to expedite?

Katiemay, I would try to get specific info from the Polish consulate. Often the airline will also have this information. If you only need to have the passport be valid for 3 months from your trip, you can wait until you've returned to do the renewal.

ggreen, I have found that the consular
websites all say 3 mos. even New YOrk
which is the one that told me 6 mos.
I have checked with Lot and American a/l
and they both said we are o.k.
I did send an email to the A.embassy in
Warsaw, for further backup.
I think if they deny us entry, we can
go to the Aembassy and have it renewed
or at least extended for 2 mos.

Katiemay, I read that Poland is part of the group of countries covered under the Schengen treaty. In those countries, your passport needs to be valid for 3 months from date of visit. (I know this firsthand from a tight situation last year on a trip to France.) However, the information I read (on Wikipedia) wasn't that clear on whether or not Poland had fully implemented the Schengen visa requirements or not. I write this mostly to back up what you have posted of what you have learned. IMO I would definitely try to get an email confirmation or speak to someone on the phone: that's a long flight over! Good luck!!

I received an email this am from the
American Embassy in Warsaw and they
said my pp is valid for my travel.
Polish consulate in D.C. said it is,
too. So did Chicago. So, we are
going with their word.
We have numbers to call at the embassy
and also an afterhours number.
I feel comfortable with it.
Thanks for all the comments.

bgreen, u.s. citizens don't need
a visa for Poland. That is clear
on all websites for Poland.

ggreen, I looked at the Wikipedia
site and the treaty won't be
implemented until March of 2008.
Does Poland like the U.S.
I think the American Embassy in
Warsaw should have current info.???

Katiemay, yes I agree, I think you should feel comfortable with all those confirmations and the afterhours numbers you have, too.

The Wikipedia entry confused me, too, with that info about March 08. (That was why I sounded so vague!) Wikipedia's great for initial info, but you never can be too sure of the hard facts, so your info from the embassy and consulate is much more concrete.

From what I understand, the Schengen treaty says all foreigners need a visa - HOWEVER, for tourists, that visa is the same as the entry stamp when you pass through immigration. So you don't need a visa in the way we think of one. (This is something I never knew until recently; I never considered the immigration stamp to be like a visa!)

Have a great trip! :)