Passport time per post office - 16 weeks

[routonc]

My dh and I put in our passport applications today. Here is what NOT to do:

 

Don't print the forms off the internet front / back. That's what I did. I didn't know they had to staple a photo to the first page. They copied the back page and all was well.

 

Make sure they aren't charging you double for expediting if you request it. They wanted to charge $60 BOTH WAYS for expediting. I said I was only paying 1 fee for each passport. From the explanation they gave at the post office they are the ones that get that fee.

 

Don't assume the photos are free with the passports like I did. I was glad I had the money for them. Don't have them done at the post office though. They are $15 at the PO! We did end up having them done at a Walgreens for $8 each. The passport site said vending machine photos were not acceptable, so that is why we hadn't already had the photos made somewhere else.

 

We drove to this post office, though, because of the photo abilities. If I had known I could have had them made at a Walgreens or Rite Aid I would have had them done locally and turned in the application at my local post office.

 

We were told 16 weeks without expediting, which is 2 weeks away from our October cruise. With expediting we were told 4-6 weeks. They did tell us about the postponement, but since right now that is through September we went ahead with the expedited application.

 

I know I assumed stupid stuff, but just in case there is someone else out there assuming the same stuff maybe this will help you out.

 

Christina in GA

[joepeka]

Thank you for the update on non-expedited processing time. DD and her fiance are going on a honeymoom cruise next Spring and I keep telling them to get his passport application in just to be safe but you know how it is with offspring - parents are a clueless pain. ;)

[mom2NnB]

We went to Walgreens to get our pics done and the girl taking the pics screwed them up so we ended up having to get them done at the PO anyway and then back to Walgreens to get reimbursed for the messed up pics.

[RHefley228]

From the explanation they gave at the post office they are the ones that get that fee.

 

The Department of State gets the $60, not the post office. You can also get the photos done for free at your local AAA office if you have AAA Plus.

[UltimateDevotion]

I ordered my passport in Feb.07 and they said it would take 8 weeks- I got it in the mail 4 months later. I didn't rush though because my cruise isn't until July.

[addicted2cruizin]

I applied at the post office (not expedited) on 2/24/07 and got my passport yesterday (15 weeks). We were told it would take 10 weeks when we applied. It was a long wait. I was starting to lose hope, so I applied for a new copy of my BC. I got the BC in 10 days! Best of luck to ya.

[UpstateCruizer]

Here's the tip we learned earlier this year when applying at our local post office ....do not expect to be able to pay for the entire process with a credit card. Our post office allowed us to use our credit card for their portion of the fee but the government portion had to be cash or check only. Also if you have your picture taken at the post office make sure you ask to see the picture and don't assume they took a decent picture. My son and husband both look stoned in their pictures but neither one thought to speak up. They will carry those passports for the next 10 years with that picture.

[Stircrzy]

My son and husband both look stoned in their pictures but neither one thought to speak up. They will carry those passports for the next 10 years with that picture.

 

Better than mine...even my kids said I look like a "chubby old woman who steals kids". :o

 

It's really bad.

 

I plan to lose some weight and then say I lost the damn thing...:(

[ala-kat]

On the very day it was announced that your application form would be sufficient, my friends had gone at lunch and had them expidited (unaware of the announcment) and paid $60 extra. They feel it was worthwhile to get them in time - they had no need for a passport until we won a trip.

 

A few days later we found out that if they do not recieve their passports in 14 days (not sure if this is business days or not as it is not clarifed), they can get the $60 back!!

 

For those with expidited passports that go beyond the gty, search this forum for the mailing address for your refund. I don't have it handy, but do know it was here on CC.

[southbayer]

Thanks for the info... I'm gonna get mines done at the post office too. I wonder if the waiting times are shortned if your just renewing your passport ?

My dh and I put in our passport applications today. Here is what NOT to do:

 

Don't print the forms off the internet front / back. That's what I did. I didn't know they had to staple a photo to the first page. They copied the back page and all was well.

 

Make sure they aren't charging you double for expediting if you request it. They wanted to charge $60 BOTH WAYS for expediting. I said I was only paying 1 fee for each passport. From the explanation they gave at the post office they are the ones that get that fee.

 

Don't assume the photos are free with the passports like I did. I was glad I had the money for them. Don't have them done at the post office though. They are $15 at the PO! We did end up having them done at a Walgreens for $8 each. The passport site said vending machine photos were not acceptable, so that is why we hadn't already had the photos made somewhere else.

 

We drove to this post office, though, because of the photo abilities. If I had known I could have had them made at a Walgreens or Rite Aid I would have had them done locally and turned in the application at my local post office.

 

We were told 16 weeks without expediting, which is 2 weeks away from our October cruise. With expediting we were told 4-6 weeks. They did tell us about the postponement, but since right now that is through September we went ahead with the expedited application.

 

I know I assumed stupid stuff, but just in case there is someone else out there assuming the same stuff maybe this will help you out.

 

Christina in GA

[DyanaT]

If you're just renewing it, I'd do it by mail and save myself the hassle of the post office...

 

I had to get a new passport (old one was from when I was a minor and expired)... Went to Walgreens, took a great picture.... the Post Office denied it due to incorrect background color and not being "close enough".

 

Had to have it redone at the Post Office (for a fee) after being sick and waiting in line for 2 hours... I was pissed. Its been 12 weeks and I havent gotten it yet either. I think I'll just order another birth certificate and use that.

[powderqn]

And...there seems to be no rhyme or reason to who gets theirs and when. I applied for a renewal May 22 (couldn't apply sooner, as I had a cruise the first week of May). Our next cruise is September, and my passport expires in July. I'm hoping I'll get it before then. My daughter applied less than 2 weeks ago for a name change (we're cruising in December), thinking she would give them 5 months. She got her passport today:eek: I know it was just a name change, but it gave her the additional 10 years (expires 2017). Go figure. Probably because she didn't need it, they sent it to her.

[memecakes]

A couple of other "heads up" things. Be prepared for a long wait at the post office. I would have sold my firstborn for a good book or even an old magazine after a couple of hours of waiting.:) Also if you are paying with a check, you must have a separate check for each application. We had a cashers check for the total, oops!!

[kgerkin]

I applied March 12, 2007 for passports for my daughter and for myself. As of this past Wed I hadn't gotten them so I called the post office where I applied, and the very nice Postmaster called and had them fed ex'd to me. My daughters came yesterday and mine came today. In total it took almost 14 weeks...but at least now I have them. I didnt realize though that the kids are only good for 5 years.

[routonc]

The Department of State gets the $60, not the post office. You can also get the photos done for free at your local AAA office if you have AAA Plus.

 

We gave them $315 total but the money order I filled out was only for $254. So that was $61 that they got in cash but was not in the money order. That plus the explanation they were trying to give us made it sound like it was their fee. She asked "And does this cash cover MY fee?" So does the money order go to the Dept. of State?

 

Christina in GA

[routonc]

There was a counter just for passport renewals at the PO that we went to. There was another family in front of us so we had to wait for them to finish before they could see us. After we got our pictures back we were able to jump in front of the line and go right to the passport counter since that's all we were doing.

 

If I had gone to my local PO, there are only 2 counters for everything, so I would have waited in line with everyone else.

 

If there is a separate passport counter, then you may not have to wait very long.

 

Christina in GA

 

 

Thanks for the info... I'm gonna get mines done at the post office too. I wonder if the waiting times are shortned if your just renewing your passport ?

[routonc]

A couple of other "heads up" things. Be prepared for a long wait at the post office. I would have sold my firstborn for a good book or even an old magazine after a couple of hours of waiting.:) Also if you are paying with a check, you must have a separate check for each application. We had a cashers check for the total, oops!!

 

Good tip on the check thing. We brought cash and the PO issued a money order. They issued the money order for the full amount though. I wonder if they made a mistake?

 

Christina in GA

[mdmomof7]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/17/ap/congress/main2940881.shtml

 

I have to wonder at the seemingly "big deal" Homeland Security makes about passports. People who seek passports aren't the ones who are going to commit the acts the HSA is seeking to prevent. And, uh, we still have thousands of miles of open border. :rolleyes:

[Mikel1733]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/17/ap/congress/main2940881.shtml

 

I have to wonder at the seemingly "big deal" Homeland Security makes about passports. People who seek passports aren't the ones who are going to commit the acts the HSA is seeking to prevent. And, uh, we still have thousands of miles of open border. :rolleyes:

 

I agree 100%. The push is on for passports for U.S. citizens, yet the borders are wide open for all to cross. Seems like they got it backwards. If they have these problems processing passports it is clear why they don't want to deal with the 12 million undocumented people in the country.

[mdmomof7]

Yep and sigh...:confused:

[TwinMom7]

We're sailing in April of '08 and that's why I'm waiting a few more months to order our passports. I'm feeling that the January '08 date will be pushed back to accomodate the mass influx of applications. If they can't keep up with air travel NOW, what's going to happen when the ruling is applied to land and sea borders?

 

We sailed smoothly last December with a driver's license and birth certificate and I'm hoping we can do it that way again.

[heymom32000]

We turned our applications in at our local post office. They require you to make an appointment so check and see if your local one does as well. Another thing we found out is that our PO will not allow you to pay at all with a debit card or credit card. Hubby brought the check book but then realized we did not have enough checks in it. So he rushed home while we finished up with stuff there.

[whimdriven]

I ordered on March 1, 2007 and received on May 29, 2007. I shudder to think about the final delivery date for my boyfriend's passport. He ordered a month or a little more after mine. Luckily, we don't sail until September. He got an extra copy of the birth certificate just in case ...