2020/ 21- US Passport & Card Application-Tracker

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

37 minutes ago, Scandi said:

If you ask me then no, definitely not worth spending $60 extra if you don't have any travel plans within the next 2 months. 

 

The only thing I semi-regret is not getting a passport card too, I only chose the passport book. But I still haven't figured out what I would ever need the card for, so.. Guaranteed to be another one of those things clogging up my wallet for absolute no reason. 

Officially 18 weeks now so more than 4 months for regular…

 

We were in San Diego recently and darn if we’d had passport cards in our wallets we’d have been able to spontaneously day trip into Mexico. You never know, it may come in useful   

[JourneyFromA2 85]

1 hour ago, Scandi said:

But I still haven't figured out what I would ever need the card for, so.. Guaranteed to be another one of those things clogging up my wallet for absolute no reason. 

For states that are still struggling with Real ID, like Illinois, it’s so much easier to get a passport card than standing in line at DMV. Works well for traveling, in lieu of Real ID. 

Edited June 29, 2021 by JourneyFromA2

[striking19 9]

1 hour ago, SusieQQQ said:

Finally applied for my daughter’s passport today . Lady at the usps said it is currently taking 8-10 weeks for expedited and 18 for regular. I looked at the DoS website when I got home thinking  she was exaggerating and it actually said 12 for expedited (6 weeks processing and allow 6 for mailing?!) and 18 for regular. Anyway, I ponied up for the expedited. We have a bucket list trip in December and the sooner we get her passport the happier I’ll be. 
 

Another question for others who’ve got expedited (and I see some recent ones here getting expedited in around a month, i so hope we do too), what passport center? The receipt with tracking number we got says it’s going to Philadelphia, even though I clearly saw her put a San Francisco application center sticker on the package. Is there something in their system that automates where it goes, does anyone know?

 

 

Wow! You must have a very nice passport clerk at your local post office.

 

In my case, the passport clerk shooed us out as soon as she had the documents and we didn't even get a tracking number.

 

The best case scenario is if you can have the passport clerk direct your application to the Boston office.

 

But honestly, I don't know if the post office clerks are given a center name every day to use or if it is based on the day of the week for that particular location. Either way, I hate their work load management causing vastly extreme processing timelines for various applicants.... 

Edited June 29, 2021 by striking19

[medic5678 12]

1 hour ago, SusieQQQ said:

Officially 18 weeks now so more than 4 months for regular…

 

We were in San Diego recently and darn if we’d had passport cards in our wallets we’d have been able to spontaneously day trip into Mexico. You never know, it may come in useful   

You don't need a passport to go over the Mexican border to Tijuana.    At least not the last time I was there.

[Scandi 4,166]

3 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Officially 18 weeks now so more than 4 months for regular…

 

We were in San Diego recently and darn if we’d had passport cards in our wallets we’d have been able to spontaneously day trip into Mexico. You never know, it may come in useful   

The processing times are still the same, they have just made sure to point out that the shipping is not part of the processing. I think a lot of people seriously thought that 12 weeks for regular and 6 weeks for expedited also included shipping, which it never did. They likely got so many phone calls about this so they felt the need to specify it on their website. 

 

So technically, nothing has changed, other than that the passport agencies have noticed that USPS has longer shipping times than normal (6 weeks for shipping sounds crazy though). 

Edited June 30, 2021 by Scandi

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

3 hours ago, striking19 said:

You must have a very nice passport clerk at your local post office.

Indeed. Small town, they know their regulars, they are very accommodating when people forget documents or present un-guillotined photos etc. I know not everyone gets this service!

 

20 minutes ago, Scandi said:

The processing times are still the same, they have just made sure to point out that the shipping is not part of the processing. I think a lot of people seriously thought that 12 weeks for regular and 6 weeks for expedited also included shipping, which it never did. They likely got so many phone calls about this so they felt the need to specify it on their website. 

 

So technically, nothing has changed, other than that the passport agencies have noticed that USPS has longer shipping times than normal (6 weeks for shipping sounds crazy though). 

But both the expedited and regular processing times have actually increased. When my husband did his in January this year, expedited was 3 weeks and regular was 6 (he did regular and got his in 4).
I think most people who do expedited do the 1-2 day shipping tacked on to it  (both there and back).

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

2 hours ago, medic5678 said:

You don't need a passport to go over the Mexican border to Tijuana.    At least not the last time I was there.

“When crossing the border back and forth between Baja and San Diego, you’ll need to have a valid passport or other acceptable identification handy. When entering the United States, U.S. citizens are required to show passport, U.S. passport card, Trusted Traveler Program card (NEXUS, SENTRI, Global Entry or FAST) or an Enhanced Driver's License. ”

 

We don’t make a habit of carrying our global entry cards with us and our minor child does not have a drivers license. 

[Scandi 4,166]

11 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Indeed. Small town, they know their regulars, they are very accommodating when people forget documents or present un-guillotined photos etc. I know not everyone gets this service!

 

But both the expedited and regular processing times have actually increased. When my husband did his in January this year, expedited was 3 weeks and regular was 6 (he did regular and got his in 4).
I think most people who do expedited do the 1-2 day shipping tacked on to it  (both there and back).

Sure, but the processing times have officially been 12 vs 6 weeks the entire time, and still are. That's the point I was trying to make. 

 

It makes perfect sense that the processing times are slightly longer now as this is when things start opening up after the pandemic and more people want to get passports for travel. It's just natural. Question is if it will get so bad that the official processing times actually have to be changed soon. This far I don't think I have seen a single regular processing case that took the full 12 weeks to process.

Edited June 30, 2021 by Scandi

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

3 minutes ago, Scandi said:

Sure, but the processing times have officially been 12 vs 6 weeks the entire time, and still are. That's the point I was trying to make. 

 

It makes perfect sense that the processing times are slightly longer now as this is when things start opening up after the pandemic and more people want to get passports for travel. It's just natural. Question is if it will get so bad that the official processing times actually have to be changed soon. This far I don't think I have seen a single regular processing case that took the full 12 weeks to process.

I don’t know what you mean by “the entire time”, clearly they have changed over the course of this year. They were not officially anywhere near that long in January and even just a few pages back someone noted his expedited message had been changed from 4-6 weeks to just 6 weeks. They have been getting progressively longer over the course of the year.

[MJS2020 17]

How long does it take to receive the Certificate of Naturalization back after receiving the Passport? Also, do you get any tracking info when it is mailed?

[medic5678 12]

Tomorrow I will try to call (Note: try to since there's no guarantee you'll actually get through) and add overnight shipping.   We weren't informed that you could have it overnighted.  Wondering if you can have that added by credit card over the phone.  Every day is rapidly becoming critical in my situation.

[Scandi 4,166]

1 hour ago, SusieQQQ said:

I don’t know what you mean by “the entire time”, clearly they have changed over the course of this year. They were not officially anywhere near that long in January and even just a few pages back someone noted his expedited message had been changed from 4-6 weeks to just 6 weeks. They have been getting progressively longer over the course of the year.

The same way USCIS has official processing times (yup, the once you find under "processing times" on their website), the same way the passport agency has theirs. Expedited has been up to 6 weeks the entire time, nothing has changed. It was up to 6 weeks in January, it's up to 6 weeks now. Some are lucky to get theirs processed in 4 weeks (sometimes even faster) at some passport agencies, while others have to wait the entire 6 weeks at other passport agencies. Works exactly the same as it does with USCIS, only at USCIS the official processing times change often, the passport agency hasn't changed theirs at all this year. Been the same the entire time. 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

54 minutes ago, Scandi said:

The same way USCIS has official processing times (yup, the once you find under "processing times" on their website), the same way the passport agency has theirs. Expedited has been up to 6 weeks the entire time, nothing has changed. It was up to 6 weeks in January, it's up to 6 weeks now. Some are lucky to get theirs processed in 4 weeks (sometimes even faster) at some passport agencies, while others have to wait the entire 6 weeks at other passport agencies. Works exactly the same as it does with USCIS, only at USCIS the official processing times change often, the passport agency hasn't changed theirs at all this year. Been the same the entire time. 

When my husband applied for his passport in January the official listed expedited time was 3 weeks. Not 6. 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

I don’t have a screenshot of what it said after his number started processing but I have one before it did, see attached, and it said they took 7-10 days to enter the passport tracking system and to wait two weeks to contact them. This was January 21. The current comparable page which you can look up for yourself says “up to 6 weeks”.  It absolutely has changed significantly. 

 

 

 

Edited June 30, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[JoannaV 174]

I just received emails saying all the kids' applications are in process. I'm definitely relieved! That's 6 weeks plus a day or two since the application appointment at the post office. 

(And yeah, when I applied for my first passport a couple of years ago it took 3 weeks total from the initial appt to receiving the passport in the mail. Hopefully they can return to that soon.)