Passport Locator # Panic

[kelban1029]

Applied March 5. We all have locator #'s but my daughter does not. I was disconnected twice when calling today. I am trying again tonight. We leave May 14th. Yes I am panicing, but positive! Please tell me no one has missed a trip due to passports!

[Rich&Stacey]

Passport is not required for a cruise until 2008. If you don't get them, just take original birth certificate (or certified copy) and gov't issued photo ID. My wife wanted hers anyway, so at the suggestion of local post office, we called and wrote our congressman, Mike Conaway. Had the passport in TWO days!! She applied in mid-February. According to his office, passports are taking up to 20 weeks right now. You just have to throw a big enough fit with the right people.

[kitty9]

Rich&Stacey, your information is not correct to the OP. If the OP is cruising in places other than the Caribbean, Mexico or Canada, a passport IS required. The OP didn't say where they were cruising, so we can only answer generically, as they might be cruising in Europe, where passports are required. Plus, the OP most likely had to submit their original/legal birth certificate with their passports applications, and unless they have doubles on those, they won't have a required form of legal ID, because the passport office has them.

 

According to the US State Department's website for passports, the "average" turnaround time for receiving a passport is 25 working days, which is 5 actual weeks. But with the huge overload of people applying for passports, according to Sunday's Tribune travel section, the time is now up to 10 to 12 weeks. There's no way of telling how long they are really taking, but they are giving that timeframe in order to let people realize that they must submit passport forms early.

 

kelban, you might be cutting it close and you might need to make multiple phone calls to see where your passports are. You applied with only a 9 week cushion, and at the time you applied, the passport service was being inundated with applications. At one point, the turnaround time for a passport was going as high as 14 weeks, but that time has decreased somewhat. If I were you, and I was cruising to a place that required passports, I would be very worried. If your cruise is to Alaska or the Caribbean, and you don't have extra sets of your birth certificates, you need to get those right now. At least if you have those, you'll be able to board the ship. And YES, I've personally known people who didn't get their passports on time and had to cancel their cruise.

[joyous337]

Keep calling the passport information office. Your sailing is within 2 weeks, so they'll take your call. Just listen carefully to the prompts. I missed one the first time I called and got hung up on. I listened more carefully the 2nd time I called and was able to get through. I only had to hold for about 10 minutes before an agent picked up. Every time I've spoken to someone, they've been very nice and helpful. Keep calling!

[Rich&Stacey]

Kitty9, oops I was in a hurry earlier and just assumed they were going caribbean. You are right, passport is required for other destinations. We sent my wife's app in mid february for a cruise on 5-19. We told the Dept of State we were leaving on 5-11, to buy us a little time. When she applied we were told that the wait was 6-8 weeks, so we thought that we had plenty of time. When she didn't have her passport by monday (11 weeks) we tried for several days in a row to get through by telephone to the Dept of State. No luck. We would hold for 15-20 minutes and then get a recorded message asking us to call back later. We were running into the same problem, as her birth cert was with the passport. Finally I went to the local office, who said that she could not speed up the process or even locate her application!! They suggested we call our congressman and see what could be done. That sounded kind of far fetched to me at the time, but it worked. Our Congressman's aide is the one who told us to "ignore" the times given by the dept of state. Some passports are taking up to 18 weeks right now according to them. She located the passport, expedited the processing, and had it mailed the same day!

 

kelban, if passport is required for your trip, try calling your congressman's office. Maybe it will work as well for you as it did us.

[im4crusin]

Keep calling! I was in the same "boat" on Monday, finally got through and they expidited the passports at no additional charge.... my son's passports arrived today (48 hours later) :D

Good Luck

[8mpg]

I hate to bust your bubble...but we applied Feb 26, sent for expeditied passports 14 days before we leave (May 12) and 5 days later they still have not touched ours :(... They keep sayin it will be here on time (full 10 weeks from applying) but Im doubting them.

 

Just because its not on the website, I wouldnt panic. Ours have dropped off and shown back up a few times now.

[SheriNtexas]

Passport is not required for a cruise until 2008. If you don't get them, just take original birth certificate (or certified copy) and gov't issued photo ID. My wife wanted hers anyway, so at the suggestion of local post office, we called and wrote our congressman, Mike Conaway. Had the passport in TWO days!! She applied in mid-February. According to his office, passports are taking up to 20 weeks right now. You just have to throw a big enough fit with the right people.

 

Here is our situation: My 16yo daughter and I are going on an EFTour June 8th with a large group of people. We applied, without expediting, on Feb. 22nd, and have had a processing # for 3 weeks now. Our tour leader called and we have a meeting May 20th, and they need a copy of the first page of our passport. Is THAT enough of a reason to try to call my Congressman and see if we can get it sooner, or should i give it another week or so? Waiting is making me SO nervous, but we are just NOW getting to that 10 week period.

[Rich&Stacey]

LeighNtexas, saw you are in Midland, us too! Apparently, judging by reading the threads, processing is taking vastly different amounts of time based on your location. The lady at the passport office told us that the southern border states are being flooded with American citizens getting passports to cross into Mexico. I don't have any idea where or how many processing centers there are. We fibbed on our travel date to allow a little extra time. We actually leave town on the 18th, but we told them the 11th. Try calling Mike Conaway's office, it's in the Claydesta building. The gal up there was very helpful and located my wife's passport application very quickly. If it is absolutely necessary that you have the copy by the 20th, I might give it a week or so longer and then call, but don't wait till the last minute, your's might not go as smoothly as ours did.

[SheriNtexas]

LeighNtexas, saw you are in Midland, us too! Apparently, judging by reading the threads, processing is taking vastly different amounts of time based on your location. The lady at the passport office told us that the southern border states are being flooded with American citizens getting passports to cross into Mexico. I don't have any idea where or how many processing centers there are. We fibbed on our travel date to allow a little extra time. We actually leave town on the 18th, but we told them the 11th. Try calling Mike Conaway's office, it's in the Claydesta building. The gal up there was very helpful and located my wife's passport application very quickly. If it is absolutely necessary that you have the copy by the 20th, I might give it a week or so longer and then call, but don't wait till the last minute, your's might not go as smoothly as ours did.

 

Hey! How 'bout those storms yesterday? :eek: I think i will give it until early next week and if nothing changes then I will call his office. In fact, I may just call tomorrow and see what happens! What a nightmare! Our tour leader said he needed to copy the first page of our passport, but i don't know if that is what HE wants to do, or if that is a requirement of EF Tours. I'll call Conaway's office and tell them it is required!;) Nice to see someone else from Midland! I saw where it said you were from West Texas and wondered where exactly you were! Thanks for all the info, i think i will go ahead and make that call tomorrow! Thanks again!!:)

[Rich&Stacey]

Those storms were something else. It doesn't rain like that here in the desert very often. Hope Conaway's office is as helpful with you as they were for us. Good luck

[kelban1029]

I called the Passport office. Lady was super nice! All of our passports are being expedited as we speak. Should arrive by the end of the week. PO office told me I did not need to expedite....but I would have gladly paid the extra $ just avoid the strees. I am good now for 10 years YEAH.

BTW when Passport office disconnects they are overloaded with calls. Call in the evening.

[LauraUSF]

I applied Feb 23rd, still haven't received it. I know I don't need it, but I would prefer to have it and if I don't get it in time, I'm gonna have to go get a new birth certificate since they have mine. I have 13 days til I leave, so I'm gonna call tomorrow and see if they'll expedite it.

[8mpg]

I applied Feb 23rd, still haven't received it. I know I don't need it, but I would prefer to have it and if I don't get it in time, I'm gonna have to go get a new birth certificate since they have mine. I have 13 days til I leave, so I'm gonna call tomorrow and see if they'll expedite it.

 

Give them a ring (probably have to call and call) but when you get through, they are very nice and helpful. We had to have our by Friday and they got us squared away. My passport arrived yesterday and my girlfriends will be out today and here tomorrow. You will want to follow up every other day with them to make sure they get it done. If they dont do anything for a couple days, dont worry, it will be done in time. After getting it expedited, they did not start processing ours for 6 days :eek: but we still got them in time.