Are you in Passport Purgatory?

[msunrullieone]

I believe I am past purgatory at this point. App was mailed in and received on April 5th--check cleared 2 weeks later. I am still not listed in the system. I can never get through on the phone. I've emailed several times and either I dont get a reply or I get a generic reply saying "please allow 3 weeks before checking the online status system." Duh, it's been 2 months now!! :mad:

[CDRMark]

DW mailed her renewal application (expedited) on 5/26 (Memorial Day Saturday). Passport arrived 6/6. Just over a week.

Cheers

Mark

[lovetocruise99]

LIN712,

 

Our status shows the same thing (the added info). Hopefully that does mean we are closer to getting our passports. Our Congressman is trying to help us get ours since we leave in one week and applied in March.

 

My son's on the other hand completely disappeared and he no longer shows in the database. :eek: Hopefully, they were just updating his status to show mailed. I can wish can't I? :D

 

Our status shows the updated info late this afternoon also. I'm not sure it means anything though. I'm been working with my u.s. representative. We're leaving next week also.

[readytolose]

My parents just applied for new passports yesterday (they lost theirs and had to get new ones instead of a renewal) and were told it is taking about 16 weeks at this point. They are leaving for Jerusalem in the beginning of November so hopefully it doesn't take much longer than that and they have them back in time. We are cruising the end of November and haven't applied for ours yet. I guess we should probably do that soon! I know we don't need them this year, but I would feel a lot better having them. I guess I'll put that on my list to get it done tomorrow!

[Irishmom23]

My daughter and I applied March 29th, the check was cashed April 26th, and just today it says it is being processed!!! (This was updated info from what was previously on the site when I checked). We leave on June 29th for our June 30th LOS sailing. If they don't come within the next week, I will be definitely getting two more birth certificates!;)

[deelee2]

I just wonder if they updated the system. Mine also has my name and dob and last 4 of ss#. I thought it was because I called our Congressman today. I applied for our family of 3 on April 2nd as did my best friend. Ours has said processing since the 2nd week of April. I did just see an article on the news about suspending the new requirements as long as you could show the application was being processed. (I guess by printing it out). Maybe we will hear more about this tomorrow. I just googled new passport requirements and a news article came up. We leave on LOS 06/30 also. Person at Congressman's office is to call me back tomorrow.:eek:

[cayenneblue]

Whoo hoo - My daughter has a Fed-Ex tracking number!!! "Supposedly", her passport will be here by 3pm tommorow (and not a moment too soon, since we leave the next morning). My son's however is "still being worked on"......

 

For some reason, hers was put in the "expedite/emergency" catagory, and his wasn't. When I called this morning, they told me that there was a note on hers that basically meant a Senator or Congressman called about hers. Strange, since I didn't call a Senator or Congressman........... My 13 year old daughter must have friends in high places!!! :D

[songster2]

I didn't see the whole news article, but due to the increased demand for passports, even though new processing sites have been added, the expected wait time is now 16 weeks. It also said that for travel in the Caribbean and Mexico (I think) that with proof of application and processing, that one will still be able to travel. I'm sure that there will be much more in the news tomorrow.

 

I had been told when renewing ours that 10 weeks was the expected time frame. At 11 weeks I contacted my Congressman and had them a week later. I had to convince the person that answered the phone that we were travelling to Europe and did indeed need the passport to even get on the plane. We're set to leave a week from this Saturday. WooHoo! :D

[songster2]

I didn't see the whole news article, but due to the increased demand for passports, even though new processing sites have been added, the expected wait time is now 16 weeks. It also said that for travel in the Caribbean and Mexico (I think) that with proof of application and processing, that one will still be able to travel. I'm sure that there will be much more in the news tomorrow.

 

I had been told when renewing ours that 10 weeks was the expected time frame. At 11 weeks I contacted my Congressman and had them a week later. I had to convince the person that answered the phone that we were travelling to Europe and did indeed need the passport to even get on the plane. We're set to leave a week from this Saturday. WooHoo! :D

 

Just found a link in another post-it's Canada, not the Caribbean, that requires proof of application. :o One must still have a passport to travel to the Caribbean.

[songster2]

I didn't see the whole news article, but due to the increased demand for passports, even though new processing sites have been added, the expected wait time is now 16 weeks. It also said that for travel in the Caribbean and Mexico (I think) that with proof of application and processing, that one will still be able to travel. I'm sure that there will be much more in the news tomorrow.

 

I had been told when renewing ours that 10 weeks was the expected time frame. At 11 weeks I contacted my Congressman and had them a week later. I had to convince the person that answered the phone that we were travelling to Europe and did indeed need the passport to even get on the plane. We're set to leave a week from this Saturday. WooHoo! :D

 

Sorry, double post.

[FitzLA]

I have had a passport since I was a baby. I would not go without it even if I did not have a trip planned out of the country. You never know what could happen. There has been plenty of notice to get your passport, so I guess I just don't understand why people waited till the last minute.

[Bethee99]

Mine has now been 14 weeks!!!! If I don't have it by next week I will call my congressman. I can't believe it could take that long. I called the passport people today and they said it is "half way done" so does that mean it will take another 14 weeks???

[charlsee]

My niece is gettig married this Saturday, June 9 and supposed to honeymoon in Italy, leaving Sunday, June 10. My niece has always had her passport, but the groom applied in early February - still no papssport. BIL thought he could get situation rectified through his employer, an oil company, so everyone relaxed a bit (except me). Monday they called me in a panic - oil company couldn't help at this late date. From the great info I've learned on CC, I advised groom to call his Congressman, which he did.He followed up today, and they said he should have it tomorrow or Friday - who knows. Please send good vibes for success. I'll let everyone know what happens; I'm stressing.

 

Update:

My niece's fiance received his passport yesterday morning! Now it's the wedding tomorrow and off to Italy for their honeymoon on Sunday! Thanks again to all CCers who gave advice and were rooting for us. Many thanks also to Congressman Kevin Brady of Texas! I admit that I was sceptical of a happy resolution to this.:)

[Cavatelli430]

Hello All!

This story was on our local news last night. Maybe a sigh of relief for those of you flying or crusing in the next 6 months. I guess the only problem is, how are you supposed to prove you've applied for a passport. The status page just shows number assigned, no name or signs of your personal identification. I'm sure Passport office will be overloaded with calls to clarify this!

 

Summer travel made easier: Passport requirement temporarily lifted

 

 

Created: 6/8/2007 8:44:42 AM

 

WASHINGTON -- The long lines for passports could be shortening soon, at least for the next six months.

Summer traveling could be made easier, as Bush administration may suspend a major security initiative that requires Americans to carry passports for air travel to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

 

A flood of passport requests has meant long delays and snarled summer travel for

thousands of Americans. The six-month suspension is aimed at clearing the State Department's massive backlog of passport applications.

 

Travelers would still have to prove they've applied for a passport in order to get back into the U.S.

[Emi's Mom]

I don't know about CA, but in Ohio you can get a photo ID at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, looks just like a drivers license, but I believe it said Ohio Identification Card. You don't have those there?

 

You can get the photo ID in Texas too! But it takes more than a few days to be mailed to you.

[lin712]

I thought I would try to call and see if they could tell me the status of my passport, dialed and sat down for what i thought would be a long wait, but surprise surprise I got right thru and actually talked to a person. It was 12 weeks yesterday, but guess what their computers were down and he couldn't tell me anything, what he did tell me is with this new rule, that if you go to the web site and print out the page that has your name, bd last 4 of ss and the comfrimation number that could be used in place of your birth certificate, I asked 4 dirrferet times, but I am not going to take the chance I am going to get another birth certificate, and if my passport comes before I leave I will have it but if not I am not going to take the chance of not having a actual bc with me.

[splash79]

I have had a passport since I was a baby. I would not go without it even if I did not have a trip planned out of the country. You never know what could happen. There has been plenty of notice to get your passport, so I guess I just don't understand why people waited till the last minute.

 

I'm not sure that people waited until the last minute. When I applied, I was told it would take 8-10 weeks. That's also what the State Department website said at that time, as well as all the articles I read about it. I applied 12.5 weeks before my trip, so I was under the assumption that I had time. In my case, not having a passport won't prevent me from traveling to my destination and I've still got less than a month before I leave, but I'm sure that others took what they read as more or less the truth and thought they had time.

[Irishmom23]

I wonder if that is just something they changed, we applied 4/12, our check cleared 5/03 and we leave 6/29. I'm starting to get worried, new birth certificates for me and my daughter are no problem since we were both born were we live, my husband was born in New York and I don't know how long it would take to get him a new birth certificate.

Sue

 

My Mom needed a certified birth certificate to apply for her passport. She lives in Massachusetts but was born in Connecticut. She downloaded a form from the CT state website, and mailed the request with the appropriate fee to the town hall where she was born and had it within a week. Of course, she expedited her passport (I did not, and I am still waiting) and she had hers in 2 weeks! Good luck!!

[Daghis]

I think that what's so frustrating about this "Purgatory" is that not only do we not have the kids' passports, but we don't have their birth certificates either.

 

We're coming up to the USA Track & Field meets for our kids, and they require proof of age. Although they have copies of the kids' birth certificates on file, they claim that we must bring proof of age to the meets. I don't know how firm this requirement is, but to be safe, I've ordered new birth certificates for the kids.

 

Our younger son was born in Washington (state). They have no formal requirements to request a birth certificate (anybody can request anyone's public records). They offered free USPS (first class, I assume) shipping, but I paid $12 to get UPS Air shipping just to be safe. I requested his on Monday and it'll be arriving today.

 

Our older son was born in Orange County, California. They require me to send a notarized document saying that I'm authorized as his father to request this birth certificate, which I FAXed in yesterday. They also require that I pay $53 for "California Premium Express" shipping, whatever that is since I'm not in California anyway. We'll see how soon I get his.

 

I suppose I'll be happy to have a spare set of birth certificates for the kids just in case, but man, what a pain!

[TRadle]

I was catching up on this thread and read through it in case anyone responded to the school ID question for the teens. Instead of going back to quote I’ll just post!

In Illinois we have a State ID card in addition to a driver’s license. Check with your Secretary of State’s Office to see if you can get these ID’s for your kids. My kids have them in addition to their DL to use on cruises so they don’t have to carry their passport off the ship or risk losing their driver’s licenses.

My passport status: Still in Purgatory…..or is it H3LL?

I applied for my renewal and my DD renewal at the end of February one week after we booked our cruise; still no passports. We sail on 8/5/2007.

Does anyone know if our passport numbers stay the same? I’d like to fill out the check-in form online. I just can’t imagine not having the passports by August! :eek:

[jjstexas]

Funny passport story (or rather, funny now, it wasn't at the time). I ordered my name-change renewal passport on January 5, 2007 after calling the local passport office to see if that would be enough time to arrive for my cruise (booked only after I was assured we would get it in time from the passport office) on March 22, 2007 (which would be about 11-12 weeks after). After March 1st, having heard nothing, I called a couple of times to check on the status and was informed (like many of you) just to call back two weeks before. Beginning 14 days before my cruise, I began a regimen of calling 4 times a day to try to get through. No luck at all (should have tried a congressman like some of you) until March 15, when, while I was out of state, my husband called to say that a letter had arrived (regular mail) to state that my passport would not be issued until "conflicting" information on my application had been taken care of. I then upped the calls to 8 times a day, and finally got in touch with 2 reps, both of whom denied the ability to tell me ANYTHING about my application, promised to call me back or have someone else call me back, and neither of whom EVER called me back (to this day). Long story short, I used my old passport and certified marriage certificate on the cruise and it worked just fine. :p

 

Here's the kicker - I call (after I'm back from my cruise) - after about a dozen calls, I get through to someone finally who can purportedly explain what the "conflicting" information was on my application. The lady informs me (with quite the audible smirk) that I had written different names on my application - that on my former passport, the last name was J**, and on the application for the new passport, my last name was S*****. She also stated, "In this day and age, we have to be very careful when applicants provide inconsistent last names on their application for renewal and their passport because of terrorism."

 

Trying as HARD as I can to be polite, I affirm with her (looking at my own copies) that the form I sent in was the appropriate NAME CHANGE FORM (due to marriage) requesting that the only change on my passport be from J*** to S*****, and that in the same envelope she was looking in was my marriage certificate, depicting my former and new last name. I asked her as politely as I could if there was anything else I could have possibly done under her agency's procedures to make it clear that this was a name change request and if there was a single blank on the form that I improperly filled out. She got a little sheepish after that and affirmed that there was nothing else I could have done - "Someone else must have looked at this too quickly and then just put it on my desk." I still only got my passport about 4 weeks after that, which would be about 15 weeks after I ordered it.

 

In short - if you submit a passport request for a name change and you get a letter less than a week before your departure that you wrote inconsistent names between your passport and application - assure them (if you ever get through) that you are not a terrorist. You just got married. :)

 

(P.S. - I don't need to get flamed. I was at all times polite to all the employees and recognize that the workers who were there all along were vastly overworked and that the new workers were new on the job. Everyone makes mistakes - I made one myself in not getting my passport expedited, despite the assurances of our local office that 11-12 weeks would be enough. Just wanted to share a funny mistake!:p )

[stargazer444]

I am in my 14th week of waiting, and just went online to check the status. It is finally in the mail. I won't be satisfied until it is in my hands though. When I applied in the beginning of March, they were stating a 10 week wait time.

[marci22]

I applied for renewal for my kids' passports...the office said they should be quicker since they are 'renewals' and not 'new' but I applied the last week of March and I'm still waiting.

[lpjpane]

I am in my 14th week of waiting, and just went online to check the status. It is finally in the mail. I won't be satisfied until it is in my hands though. When I applied in the beginning of March, they were stating a 10 week wait time.

 

So it will eventually show that it was mailed? That's good to know.