Passport

[topnole]

On 2/23/2023 at 1:26 PM, Denversail said:

Congress person? Are you serious?

Congressional offices help out with passport issues all the time.  They have congressional liaisons in each of the passport offices around the country whose job it is to field inquiries from congressional staffers.  This is a very common practice.  
 

What you ought to be questioning is why is the process so bad that this is needed.   

[LadyZolt]

15 hours ago, Denversail said:

Getting the result one wants does not make someone’s actions right....I’d like to think that my congress representatives office exist to work on more important issues than getting you folks on your cruises. 

Even if the passport application had been completely lost and had to be submitted again and the poster did NOT get the result that they wanted, contacting their Congress member was the right decision in this case because the State Department is the agency that issues passports and our avenue as regular citizens of the US when dealing with a federal entity is via our federal representative.  If we were talking about a private company -- Chevy not delivering a car on time, or FedEx losing an overnight package -- it would be different.  Each entity has a chain of command.  The passport applicant followed all of the proper procedures, paid for expedited service, contacted the agency multiple times with no results, waited far longer than I would have waited, and then followed exactly the proper route for handling an issue with a federal agency, which is their elected officials in the federal government.  I think if you actually research what your Congress people do, you will discover that a lot of the things they handle are things like this -- regular people having issues with some federal entity and needing a resolution -- problems with Social Security, IRS issues, veteran services, even appointing young people to service academies -- this is what they do.  Sorry to disillusion you.   

[DallasGuy75219]

15 hours ago, Denversail said:

Getting the result one wants does not make someone’s actions right. I wouldn’t call a few weeks indefinite. By their own admission they don’t even need the passport for the cruise vacation they are taking. I’d like to think that my congress representatives office exist to work on more important issues than getting you folks on your cruises. 

Then who holds the agencies of the executive branch accountable to the citizens who pay their salaries (and in this case explicitly pay for and don't receive their services)???

[luckyfincruiser]

Husband did online renewal Jan 6 and paid for expedited bc we leave for next cruise March 9.  Hadn't gotten anything at all yet last week so we contacted our senator's office through link on website and update was that it was still in process.  Husband emailed back and said it was needed before March 9.  GOt an email back from office saying it was getting sent out and he got it yesterday - so it was 7 weeks.  And I don't believe he would have gotten it yesterday without reaching out to senator office.  

Insert eye roll about bad government processes here! lol Why fix this slow system when you can look like a hero instead! 

Edited February 25, 2023 by luckyfincruiser

[mandyleighflies]

On 2/23/2023 at 1:36 PM, Max and Ruby said:

 

I was lucky then!  My daughter applied on Jan 3rd at the post office regular processing time and we just got it today, so 7 weeks.  @mandyleighflies do your kids' passports look totally different than yours?  My 18 yo just applied for her 1st adult passport and got it in October 2022. Hers looks like mine which is pretty old.  My younger daughter's that arrived today is a totally different look!  Wondered if they changed minor passports or just updated all passport features recently?

 

Yes!! Their passports look TOTALLY different from mine!! I was just informed that since they have Global Entry, I will need to update their passport information with the GE office also. Not sure how to do this, does anyone have any experience in this? 

[LadyZolt]

6 hours ago, mandyleighflies said:

 

Yes!! Their passports look TOTALLY different from mine!! I was just informed that since they have Global Entry, I will need to update their passport information with the GE office also. Not sure how to do this, does anyone have any experience in this? 

Thanks for posting this!  We just got new passports and I didn't even think to update that info with Global Entry.  Just log onto your Trusted Traveler Program account and you'll see "Update documents" on the right hand side.  Pretty straightforward!  Thanks again!  

Edited February 27, 2023 by LadyZolt

[mandyleighflies]

17 hours ago, LadyZolt said:

Thanks for posting this!  We just got new passports and I didn't even think to update that info with Global Entry.  Just log onto your Trusted Traveler Program account and you'll see "Update documents" on the right hand side.  Pretty straightforward!  Thanks again!  

 

Done and THANK YOU!! That was very easy. 

[Galveston Cruiser]

For information:  I sent my Passport in on January 30th, shows received on February 2nd; received today.  I did pay for expedited service but not mail though is was sent by expedited mail by the State Department.

4 weeks - not bad.

[trvlgirlmq]

I would love to know how people are able to check the status online? I applied online on January 1 and my original email said 6-9 weeks.  We are just about there.  I try to log in to the mytravegov site and I always get a timeout screen and I can't check anything.  I am beyond frustrated at this point. I tried calling the number on the website but you can't talk to a real person and it was no help.

[wcook]

Just to confirm, dealing with passport issues is one of the things congressional offices routinely do. 

[topnole]

21 minutes ago, trvlgirlmq said:

I would love to know how people are able to check the status online? I applied online on January 1 and my original email said 6-9 weeks.  We are just about there.  I try to log in to the mytravegov site and I always get a timeout screen and I can't check anything.  I am beyond frustrated at this point. I tried calling the number on the website but you can't talk to a real person and it was no help.

Try a different device or clear your cache and cookies.  It always worked for me. 
 

Assume you submitted by mail?

[topnole]

On 2/25/2023 at 6:54 AM, luckyfincruiser said:

Husband did online renewal Jan 6 and paid for expedited bc we leave for next cruise March 9.  Hadn't gotten anything at all yet last week so we contacted our senator's office through link on website and update was that it was still in process.  Husband emailed back and said it was needed before March 9.  GOt an email back from office saying it was getting sent out and he got it yesterday - so it was 7 weeks.  And I don't believe he would have gotten it yesterday without reaching out to senator office.  

Insert eye roll about bad government processes here! lol Why fix this slow system when you can look like a hero instead! 

Ours were received by passport office on Jan 4th and still nothing late last week. Had to make an emergency appointment hours away for next week and then called my congressional office and pounded that drum for a few days.  Luckily noticed a call late in the evening on a Friday night from state department.  A few days later we got them.  The system is horrible.  

[Longford]

It's recommended that Passport renewal applications be submitted up to 9 months prior to expiration.  As for checking the application status: U.S. Passport Application Status (state.gov)

[trvlgirlmq]

11 hours ago, topnole said:

Try a different device or clear your cache and cookies.  It always worked for me. 
 

Assume you submitted by mail?

I submitted online.  I was finally able to get in and it is still "in processing" after 8 weeks. I went ahead an paid the extra $60 for expedited.  Let's hope that clicks something and it comes soon. I also checked my mom's who submitted online the same day and hers was still just "received"!! Paid the extra there too.  We don't cruise until May but I thought January would be early enough since we never had a problem in the past.

[topnole]

16 minutes ago, trvlgirlmq said:

I submitted online.  I was finally able to get in and it is still "in processing" after 8 weeks. I went ahead an paid the extra $60 for expedited.  Let's hope that clicks something and it comes soon. I also checked my mom's who submitted online the same day and hers was still just "received"!! Paid the extra there too.  We don't cruise until May but I thought January would be early enough since we never had a problem in the past.

It seems to be taking a long time right now.  Hopefully this does speed things up.  We had three out that all went out together in the same envelope.  One was back for weeks while the other two weren’t.  No rhyme or reason.  

[GMomKassie]

Yes, my renewal just took less than three weeks.   I mailed mine and still had this quick turnaround.

[topnole]

12 minutes ago, GMomKassie said:

Yes, my renewal just took less than three weeks.   I mailed mine and still had this quick turnaround.

It seems quite random from my recent experience of three applications sent out in the same envelope.  One back weeks before the others.  
 

I’ll say this.  If applying now, do expedited and leave plenty of time to spare.  Some folks are waiting 2+ months even with expedited.  If you are past your expected window, call your congressional office for help.  They get things moving if stalled.  
 

Our system in the US is pathetic.  We should be able to track progress.  There should be accountability for timeframes.  It shouldn’t take begging a congressional staffer for help.  You can track a $3 item from Amazon and know right where it is. Something as important as a passport.  Nope.  And a team of workers who can only tell you they know nothing.  Quite a system.  We probably spend billions on it.  

[superduper123]

2 hours ago, GMomKassie said:

Yes, my renewal just took less than three weeks.   I mailed mine and still had this quick turnaround.

Did you pay for expedited service?

 

[dcourt]

7 hours ago, trvlgirlmq said:

I submitted online.  I was finally able to get in and it is still "in processing" after 8 weeks. I went ahead an paid the extra $60 for expedited.  Let's hope that clicks something and it comes soon. I also checked my mom's who submitted online the same day and hers was still just "received"!! Paid the extra there too.  We don't cruise until May but I thought January would be early enough since we never had a problem in the past.

I submitted mine January 18, 2023 online but didn't pay for expedited processing.  I have not gotten it back yet.  I have a cruise at the end of April.  Hope I have it back soon.  I thought I would be safe sending it out 4 months prior to when I need it.  When I sent mine it said it would take 6 - 9 weeks so we will see if I have to call my Congressman!  

[Max and Ruby]

Any pay attention to your delivery app notifications.  I have USPS, and the day the passport was delivered to me, it actually was not delivered to ME.  Mail person delivered my daughter's passport to my NEIGHBOR.  I was frantic at first and went mailbox to mailbox to find it. UGH. The Passport website only had status marked as "printing".

[trvlgirlmq]

UPDATE! After paying the expedited fee on Thursday my mom and I both got emails THIS MORNING saying our passports had been shipped!! Really? Like they were just waiting for the extra money and they would stop holding my passport hostage? I am so ticked by this.

[Longford]

7 minutes ago, trvlgirlmq said:

UPDATE! After paying the expedited fee on Thursday my mom and I both got emails THIS MORNING saying our passports had been shipped!! Really? Like they were just waiting for the extra money and they would stop holding my passport hostage? I am so ticked by this.

It's called expedited service handled by different staff.  Nothing unusual.  We pay to expedite early boarding, early departures when cruising and preferential use of tenders .. while others wait.