Has anyone applied for a passport recently?

[ameise 25]

Which city/state? Did you expedite? How long did it take you to get the passport and your documents back?

 

I'm trying to get a sense for how long it might take right now, during the pandemic, but as travel restrictions lift and people are looking to travel. Is expediting worth it?

[Mike E 11,739]

Some people don’t expedite and get a new non -renewal passport in 2 weeks. Others do a renewal with expedite and wait months.  
 

One should expect a confluence of pressures: the passport agency  is slow to re-open to Precovid levels of service, coupled with higher than normal demand for passports.  If you were in the USA when the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative went into effect, the passport agency was overwhelmed by passport applications, mostly original applications from those who previously flew on a BC/DL to North America and the Caribbean, was  Passports were taking months.  
 

If you plan to travel this year and don’t have a second citizenship / passport as a fall back plan, then consider the expedite fees as insurance.  However as my grandfather once advised me: “buy all the life insurance you can afford but don’t expect to collect it.”  And he was prescient.  He died and never saw a dime.  

Edited May 28, 2021 by Mike E

[JeanneAdil 6,510]

city and state have no influence on the passport process

it is federal

[ameise 25]

1 hour ago, Mike E said:

Some people don’t expedite and get a new non -renewal passport in 2 weeks. Others do a renewal with expedite and wait months.  
 

One should expect a confluence of pressures: the passport agency  is slow to re-open to Precovid levels of service, coupled with higher than normal demand for passports.  If you were in the USA when the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative went into effect, the passport agency was overwhelmed by passport applications, mostly original applications from those who previously flew on a BC/DL to North America and the Caribbean, was  Passports were taking months.  
 

If you plan to travel this year and don’t have a second citizenship / passport as a fall back plan, then consider the expedite fees as insurance.  However as my grandfather once advised me: “buy all the life insurance you can afford but don’t expect to collect it.”  And he was prescient.  He died and never saw a dime.  

That's helpful. Work will likely need me to travel internationally soon, so I think I might expedite if just for the peace of mind.

 

28 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

city and state have no influence on the passport process

it is federal

That's very helpful. So it doesn't really matter where you apply from.

[Mike E 11,739]

1 hour ago, JeanneAdil said:

city and state have no influence on the passport process

it is federal

It does if you are seeking an original passport and not a renewal.  Some post offices don’t have appointments for months.  

[nastra30 2,287]

5 hours ago, Mike E said:

It does if you are seeking an original passport and not a renewal.  Some post offices don’t have appointments for months.  

How does city and state have influence on Passport process? Post offices are still under federal jurisdiction. You can pretty much mail it from any post office that accepts passport applications. It doesn't have to be in a city or state that your live in since it's federal.

 

Edited May 28, 2021 by nastra30

[nastra30 2,287]

6 hours ago, ameise said:

That's helpful. Work will likely need me to travel internationally soon, so I think I might expedite if just for the peace of mind.

 

That's very helpful. So it doesn't really matter where you apply from.

Yes, it doesn't matter where you apply from; it's a federal process.

[ameise 25]

11 minutes ago, nastra30 said:

How does city and state have influence on Passport process? Post offices are still under federal jurisdiction. You can pretty much mail it from any post office that accepts passport applications. It doesn't have to be in a city or state that your live in since it's federal.

 

I guess he means that depending on where you live, it might be a while until you get an appointment for a first-time passport. The closest appointment near me is almost a month away, for example. But the process should be the same once the application is submitted.

[Gingerspike 55]

My husband applied on April 12 for the first time, non-expedited. It is now shipped  and would arrive within 10 business days from today. They say regular processing takes 10-12 weeks but this just took 7-8 weeks. 

[Scandi 4,166]

8 hours ago, Mike E said:

It does if you are seeking an original passport and not a renewal.  Some post offices don’t have appointments for months.  

The actual passport process isn't affected based on where you live. That USPS don't have available appointments in certain areas of the country is a different matter.

[Scandi 4,166]

11 hours ago, ameise said:

Which city/state? Did you expedite? How long did it take you to get the passport and your documents back?

 

I'm trying to get a sense for how long it might take right now, during the pandemic, but as travel restrictions lift and people are looking to travel. Is expediting worth it?

You need to check out the passport forum here on VJ, you will find all the info there. There's also a current thread where people post about their passport processes and experiences.

[nastra30 2,287]

2 hours ago, ameise said:

I guess he means that depending on where you live, it might be a while until you get an appointment for a first-time passport. The closest appointment near me is almost a month away, for example. But the process should be the same once the application is submitted.

But my point is it's not a requirement to submit where you live though. Of course for convenience you'll want a location closer to you but it's not a requirement. You can submit application in any USPS location in the country that accepts application.

[Scandi 4,166]

6 minutes ago, nastra30 said:

But my point is it's not a requirement to submit where you live though. Of course for convenience you'll want a location closer to you but it's not a requirement. You can submit application in any USPS location in the country that accepts application.

Right, you obviously look for available appointments in the larger area around you, doesn't have to be the closest USPS. If you really want your passport fairly soon, then you don't mind driving a bit for the passport appointment. And it's just a one-time thing, it's not like you have to go back a second time to pick it up or anything. 

 

Personally I wouldn't mind taking a long roadtrip to get it done.

[JuLu 6]

I applied my passport the first time in early April. I expedite it, since I am nervous that I have to send away my Certificate of Naturalization for it, so I wanted to receive my passport asap. Got my passport in about a month (early May). My certificate came separately about three weeks (?) after. I'm in Southern California.

[Loren Y 2,755]

I did mine back in January and it took exactly 8 weeks to get it back, Standard service. I helped my friend renew his in March, and again, regular service, he got a passport card, and passport, passport was a little over 8 weeks, card came the following week. Depending on the service type, it could matter where you send it, see below, the state you reside in does matter in some cases....

Inside the United States:

Mail your completed application, including your most recent passport, name change document (if applicable), photo, and fees, to one of the addresses below. Please see Processing Times for information on how long it will take to get your passport. 

If you live in the United States, you must use the United States Postal Service (USPS) to mail your renewal application and supporting documents. If you live in Canada, you should use Canada Post. Please do not use other delivery services such as UPS, FedEx, or DHL. Only USPS or Canada Post can deliver to the PO Box addresses listed on Form DS-82. If you use UPS, FedEx, DHL, or another company to send your application, the application will be returned to you.

Routine Service (If you live in California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, or Texas):

                National Passport Processing Center
                Post Office Box 640155
                Irving, TX 75064-0155

Routine Service (If you live in any other state or Canada):

                National Passport Processing Center
                Post Office Box 90155
                Philadelphia, PA 19190-0155

Expedited Service (Additional fee applies. For any state or Canada):
Write "EXPEDITE" on the outside of the mailing envelope.

                National Passport Processing Center
                Post Office Box 90955
                Philadelphia, PA 19190-0955

When mailing your passport application from the United States, please use:

• An envelope large enough to fit the application without folding
• Mailing by the United States Postal Service (USPS)
• Request Priority Mail Express, which is the fastest trackable delivery method offered by USPS. The method used must be able to deliver to a P.O. Box address

 

If you are really looking for a challenge, I managed to get 2 passports legally. Took a letter and a little work, but you can legally have 2  US passports in your possession. I have it set so they expire 5 years apart, that way I don't care how long it takes to renew, I always have one to travel on. It does cost twice as much, because you are renewing every 5 years instead of 10, but it is nice to have 2 passports.

 

As a side note, they always say to use Priority mail Express, but I have been using Just priority mail Flat rate envelope( 7.95) and never had an issue. Express is like 24 bucks, and getting it there in one day instead of 2-3 never really made much of a difference to me.

Edited May 29, 2021 by Loren Y