midlife

I'm really in a pickle...

 

I have to wait until 10 days from my trip to take the next step. I'm not even sure what that step will be.

 

Anyone have any suggestions??

That step is to simply pay on the spot (over the phone) the expedited fee and that was what they offered me when I called when there were only 10 days left before my cruise date. All I got in return for the extra fee was a promise that it will be expedited, and not much else. So I decided to forgo the passport for my son and went apply for a state ID card and will use that plus his birth certificate.

In your case you already paid the expedited fee. You may want to keep trying to call the number to get to talk to a live person to see what the status is. One time all I got was "status undetermined", and that was 6 weeks after the date I applied!

If you go to your post office that handles it, do you take all members of your family or do you just go in and get forms?

The person who wants to apply for the passport needs to be present. After all, you'll need to raise your hand and swear that you're telling the truth!

Particularly for children, BOTH parents must be present. If not, other kinds of special paperwork need to be presented (see http://travel.state.gov).