Question:
How long does it normally take to
get a passport? Has anyone used
the services that claim to get a
passport in 24 hours or so? I am
concerned about their reliability.
We need passports by June 6th and
hope that is not going to be a problem.
Answer:
They usually say it will be six
weeks for normal service, though
it's been running faster because
not as many people are traveling.
You can expedite it through the
State Department yourself without
paying the fee to another service
to do that, the turn around for
that is two weeks. It costs an extra
$60, information is over at http://travel.state.gov/passport_expedite.html.
On top of
the extra fee, you will need to
pay for overnight service in both
directions, but it's still less
then using a service. I believe
if you are not doing it in person
at a passport office you first have
to get all the paperwork taken care
of at an acceptance facility ( search
for one near you at http://iafdb.travel.state.gov/
) . They then have to seal it into
their envelope, and you have to
get that to the passport office,
either overnight shipping, using
an expediting service, whatever.
If you live
near one of the dozen or so passport
offices, and it's within two weeks
of your trip (some offices more,
some less, check the state department
site for details for near where
you live) you can get an appointment,
go in one day, prove you are traveling
(show your tickets) drop the stuff
off and get it back the next day.
Locations, contact information for
those offices, etc is at http://travel.state.gov/agencies_list.html
You have plenty
of time to do the expedited service
with the state department for the
extra $60, you don't have to pay
considerably more for a service
to do it for you. Assuming you have
the citizenship proof and don't
have to get it, get all the paperwork,
pictures, proof of citizenship,
everything you need, head over to
an acceptance facility or passport
office, and in a couple of weeks
you should be all set. If that makes
you nervous, then you can use an
expediter (they in essence will
just be standing in line for you,
they get it the office for overnight
processing, and then get it back
to you) and have it in a few days.
It can start adding up, you have
to pay $30 to the acceptance agent,
then $55 for the adult passport,
then $60 for expediting it (each).
If overnighting
it figure another $30 for round
trip shipping. If using a service,
figure on another $150 or so for
their services on top of all the
rest. I'd save the extra $150 or
so and go direct with the state
department paying them the extra
$60 for the two week service. If
you do it early next week I would
go for the expedited service directly
I'm not sure if it's still the case,
but there used to be offices (in
places like New York City) where
you could go for a same day (or
extremely expedited) passport. Other
major cities may have them as well.
If you live close to a large city,
you could check on that possibility.
We recently
got our passports and it only took
8 business days to receive them,
but there is no guarantee. It's
been years but don't I remember
that you could get a passport the
same day in Washington DC. We just
got ours last month from the Post
Office. Turned in the application
on March 28th received the passports
on April 11th. The gentleman at
the Post Office told about 6 weeks,
I was very surprised they came so
quickly. So, 2 weeks for us. I'm
sure one of the hundreds of places
that will expedite the process could
do it very quickly. One must show
a specific need like a plane ticket
leaving the next day ... I know
of people who got same day renewals
in NYC and Philly ... first passport
even expedited still takes 48 hrs
min though I believe.
I applied
for passports for my kids in early
March and it was 5 weeks before
they came. I was very surprised
it took that long as mine came in
less than 2 weeks (and that was
during the 9-11 crisis). Perhaps
the kids took longer since I my
husband wasn't with me when I applied
and I had the signed waivers from
him saying that it was okay for
me to get them passports. The State
Dept. has a surcharge ($65 ea.,
I think) for expedited service.
These companies charge an additional
$125 or so for expedited service.
Add all that to the base price of
the passport.
Your best
bet is go to wherever locally you
can do it (post office or other
government agency) and pay the expedited
surcharge. All you are adding with
these companies is another layer
of payment. Try checking http://www.travel.state.gov/passport_services
for information and locations. It's
usually next day now. You have to
check the state department web site
for the office information as most
of them don't accept walk in's anymore,
you have to have an appointment.
And it's virtually impossible to
get an appointment the same day
that you call for one. You go over
one day, and in many cases don't
get the passport until the next
one.
