Recent Experience with Expedited Passport Agencies

[NYBEtt 88]

Has anyone had experience getting an appointment at an expedited agency, with proof of travel? What time do appointments open up in the 2-week time frame?

Is the passport issued the same day? Is it acceptable to apply at a facility far away from you?

 

Thanks!

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

Expedited Agency?  Do you mean a private company that does expedited service or a US passport agency/office?

 

A private company can take your photo and submit your application for expedited service (with the extra fee) as overnight mail to the nearest US passport office.

 

This method takes 4-6 weeks for approval.

 

If you need Urgent travel - life or death emergency - then you can try to get an appointment at your passport office for 3 business day issuance.  They also have some limited appointment slots for urgent international business travel, for 3 business day processing.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/passport-agencies.html

 

 

I saw some places advertise express 24 hour processing.  All they can do is submit your application and guarantee it would arrive to the US passport agency within 24 hours.  Then it is up to the US DOS to process and produce your passport, which is 4-6 weeks, plus 1-2 day express mail return.

 

Edited May 1, 2021 by SteveInBostonI130
typo

[NYBEtt 88]

20 minutes ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

Expedited Agency?  Do you mean a private company that does expedited service or a US passport agency/office?

 

A private company can take your photo and submit your application for expedited service (with the extra fee) as overnight mail to the nearest US passport office.

 

This method takes 4-6 weeks for approval.

 

If you need Urgent travel - life or death emergency - then you can try to get an appointment at your passport office for 3 business day issuance.  They also have some limited appointment slots for urgent international business travel, for 3 business day processing.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/passport-agencies.html

 

 

I saw some places advertise express 24 hour processing.  All they can do is submit your application and guarantee it would arrive to the US passport agency within 24 hours.  Then it is up to the US DOS to process and produce your passport, which is 4-6 weeks, plus 1-2 day express mail return.

 

Sorry for the confusion. I was using the terms "agency" and "facility" interchangeably. I was referring to a US passport agency/facility's expedited service (less than 3 business days) for urgent international travel plans (less than 4 weeks away), as outline here

 

My questions can likely only be answered by someone who has recently (past year) applied for a passport at on the of the expedited agencies/centers.

 

What time do appointments open up in the 2-week time frame? Currently my local office (NYC) does not have any appointments for the next two weeks, but other offices (Montpelier and Buffalo) have appointments available in 13 days. I assume appointments open up at at the 2-week mark, but what time does that occur? Or is that not necessarily the case?

Is it acceptable to apply at a facility far away from you? If so, would I need to return to pick up the passport or are they returned same day?

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

About 10 years ago my fiends needed to get their passports renewed for one of their sons.  They didn't check and one was going to expire before their trip home to Ireland (LPR parents, USC children).  They lived in PA, but visited me for a few days in MA to get the express renewal done in Portsmouth.  They went one morning for the appointment and were contacted the day after saying they could pick up the passports that afternoon.  So about 28-32 hrs turn-around.  

[Gordo2 23]

On 5/1/2021 at 7:22 AM, NYBEtt said:

Sorry for the confusion. I was using the terms "agency" and "facility" interchangeably. I was referring to a US passport agency/facility's expedited service (less than 3 business days) for urgent international travel plans (less than 4 weeks away), as outline here

 

My questions can likely only be answered by someone who has recently (past year) applied for a passport at on the of the expedited agencies/centers.

 

What time do appointments open up in the 2-week time frame? Currently my local office (NYC) does not have any appointments for the next two weeks, but other offices (Montpelier and Buffalo) have appointments available in 13 days. I assume appointments open up at at the 2-week mark, but what time does that occur? Or is that not necessarily the case?

Is it acceptable to apply at a facility far away from you? If so, would I need to return to pick up the passport or are they returned same day?

If you go through with this and get answers to your questions please do follow up.

 

I'm curious about this too.

[NYBEtt 88]

46 minutes ago, Gordo2 said:

If you go through with this and get answers to your questions please do follow up.

 

I'm curious about this too.

So far I've been able to determine the following:

-you can go any passport agency, since the website tells you to be aware of travel advisories

-it's unclear if you get the passport same day, but it is possible. the website says they will discuss delivery options with you at the appointment.

-I've been able to find appointments at certain locations up to 13 days in advance. However, I still haven't figured out what time the slots open up.

-All available appointments I've found so far are for locations far away from us.

 

I see your interview is scheduled first so if you also figure anything out before hand let us know!

[Gordo2 23]

34 minutes ago, NYBEtt said:

So far I've been able to determine the following:

-you can go any passport agency, since the website tells you to be aware of travel advisories

-it's unclear if you get the passport same day, but it is possible. the website says they will discuss delivery options with you at the appointment.

-I've been able to find appointments at certain locations up to 13 days in advance. However, I still haven't figured out what time the slots open up.

-All available appointments I've found so far are for locations far away from us.

 

I see your interview is scheduled first so if you also figure anything out before hand let us know!

Will do. I have the oath ceremony mid-month and have a previously scheduled trip planned in early June. Just enough time to know that an expedited mailed request won't be fast enough.

 

Seattle is my closest passport agency and probably the only one I can get to since the others are in San Fran and LA. I don't see any openings though so I wonder how that would work.

[Scandi 4,166]

I don't think you can get an emergency appointment if your travel is 2 weeks out, I believe you need to show proof that you need to travel within 3 business days or so. And you need to call to get one, there's no online appointment system for that.

 

Expedited takes 4-6 weeks.

[NYBEtt 88]

21 hours ago, Scandi said:

I don't think you can get an emergency appointment if your travel is 2 weeks out, I believe you need to show proof that you need to travel within 3 business days or so. And you need to call to get one, there's no online appointment system for that.

 

Expedited takes 4-6 weeks.

You can definitely make an appointment online, but it's difficult to snag one. Your appointment has to take place 3 business days before your travel but you can book the appointment up to two weeks out.

[Scandi 4,166]

2 hours ago, NYBEtt said:

You can definitely make an appointment online, but it's difficult to snag one. Your appointment has to take place 3 business days before your travel but you can book the appointment up to two weeks out.

I was just reading off of their website, for emergency passport it says to call them (in bold even). 

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/emergencies.html

[NYBEtt 88]

1 hour ago, Scandi said:

I was just reading off of their website, for emergency passport it says to call them (in bold even). 

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/emergencies.html

Correct. That is for life-or-death emergencies though, which is different from "urgent" travel:

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html

[MJS2020 17]

Perhaps not exactly on topic here but does anyone know how to apply for US Passport for the first time (DS-11) without USPS? It looks like USPS has no available time slots for appointments and I was wondering what would be the alternative to an USPS appointment? Passport Agencies (for expedited service) currently do not seem to have appointments either so I assume they won’t any time soon. 

 

I’ve found “Passport Acceptance Facilities” and they do not require appointments so I was wondering if I can go there (when the time comes haha) and apply for passport on site?

[NYBEtt 88]

13 hours ago, MJS2020 said:

Perhaps not exactly on topic here but does anyone know how to apply for US Passport for the first time (DS-11) without USPS? It looks like USPS has no available time slots for appointments and I was wondering what would be the alternative to an USPS appointment? Passport Agencies (for expedited service) currently do not seem to have appointments either so I assume they won’t any time soon. 

 

I’ve found “Passport Acceptance Facilities” and they do not require appointments so I was wondering if I can go there (when the time comes haha) and apply for passport on site?

It depends on how soon you want your passport. Here in NY all appointments are also taken but they open up slots 4 weeks in advance in the morning. Its 7am and almost all slots available for June 8 (4 weeks from today) for my nearest post office. I'll bet it's the same for you too. 

[MJS2020 17]

1 hour ago, NYBEtt said:

It depends on how soon you want your passport. Here in NY all appointments are also taken but they open up slots 4 weeks in advance in the morning. Its 7am and almost all slots available for June 8 (4 weeks from today) for my nearest post office. I'll bet it's the same for you too. 

Thank you for the reply. Yeah, the timeframes are weird. My travel date will be 3 weeks out from my oath ceremony. So it’s less than 4 weeks which is the minimum processing time for an expedited service but not “urgent” enough to qualify for the urgent travel category 😕

[NYBEtt 88]

23 hours ago, MJS2020 said:

Thank you for the reply. Yeah, the timeframes are weird. My travel date will be 3 weeks out from my oath ceremony. So it’s less than 4 weeks which is the minimum processing time for an expedited service but not “urgent” enough to qualify for the urgent travel category 😕

You actually might have a shot if you can get an appointment for the date of your oath ceremony. I've read instances where expedited passports arrive in 3 weeks. We are in a similar situation. Except we don't know when the oath date will be :S. At this point we'll likely have to postpone the trip or request the oath ceremony to take place after we return.