US Passport Processing Times

[Bootsie]

In early January, I submitted my passport renewal forms.  I paid for expedited service (and shipping).  I received a notice that it had been received and stated "We are currently processing routine applications in 6-9 weeks and expedited applications in 3-5 weeks from the date you submitted your application. "  That was over 7 weeks ago and my renewal still has not been processed!  

This is frustrating for a number of reasons.  First, I had a valid passport but it is invalidated once I submitted the renewal application; there is no way to maintain a valid passport at all times.  When you renew there is a period of time that you have NO passport.  DD is living abroad and I do not like the prospect of not being able to travel to here quickly if needed.  It isn't simply a matter of planning ahead.  You can't make an appointment and simply do it in person unless you have travel plans in the next 14 days.  Which I would never want to get down to the point where I have tickets and have to count on getting an appointment. (I have known two instances in which people needed emergency passports, made an appointment, traveled out of town to the processing center to be told that "the computer system is down--come back tomorrow").

Second, I paid for expedited processing and we are into the 8th week and it still hasn't been processed!  This puts the processing time in the second-half of what was advertised as the "routine processing" time and it still has not been processed.  

Third, you can go into the website and check the status.  On three separate occasions I have had the website not work--just a rotating circle saying "please wait".  

I generally have the attitude of "Have Passport; Will Travel" so I feel stranded.  I was considering visiting DD next month during my spring break, but I don't want to book tickets without my passport... 

[Pam in CT]

That is frustrating.

I don't really understand why wait times vary SO much from one region to another. (I mean, I do literally understand that there are regional processing offices and that international travel is distributed unevenly, but I guess what I don't understand is, if one regional office is backed up... can't they, like, shift some of the backlog? Or something?)

I helped two of my recently-naturalized students fill out & submit passport paperwork the last week of December, so just about a week before you.  The expected processing time for them WITHOUT expediting was 8-10 weeks, and they don't expect to travel until May so they didn't pay for it; and they actually got their spanking-new so-thrilling US passports within 5 without expediting. 

While you're still in limbo.

I feel like it shouldn't be that hard to re-balance the load so it's not that different from one part of the country to another.

[Bootsie]

5 minutes ago, Pam in CT said:

 

I helped two of my recently-naturalized students fill out & submit passport paperwork the last week of December, so just about a week before you.  The expected processing time for them WITHOUT expediting was 8-10 weeks, and they don't expect to travel until May so they didn't pay for it; and they actually got their spanking-new so-thrilling US passports within 5 without expediting. 

 

Uggh.  This makes me even more frustrated. I didn't realize there was such a difference in different parts of the country.  Were those NEW passports and not even renewals?  It seems like renewal of a valid passport could be processed more quickly than passports for people who have not previously had a passport. 

And, at a minimum, why does my existing passport need to be invalidated because I have applied for a renewal?

[Pam in CT]

1 minute ago, Bootsie said:

Uggh.  This makes me even more frustrated. I didn't realize there was such a difference in different parts of the country.  Were those NEW passports and not even renewals?  It seems like renewal of a valid passport could be processed more quickly than passports for people who have not previously had a passport. 

And, at a minimum, why does my existing passport need to be invalidated because I have applied for a renewal?

Yeah, new (US) passports.  (They were JUST naturalized and thus JUST went through that whole security check process which includes a pretty diligent when-exactly-have-you-crossed-what-border-and-why, so the DHS check might actually be easier.  But still.)

 

I hope yours arrives soon.  I go a little out of my mind when any of our passports are pending. 

[ScoutTN]

Dd’s application went in mid-December and no passport yet. SE region, so the New Orleans office. 

Edited February 27, 2023 by ScoutTN

[busymama7]

Oh dear.  This is making me stressed.  We have travel plans in about 2 months and just got our passports submitted this morning and paid for expedited.  I have never been out of the country before so have never had one. My husband has but his has been expired for like 20 years.  It just hasnt been a thing we have needed but now we do and I sure hope they come in time. It's a cruise and I think we only lose $200 if we cancel but I would be so bummed.  I've never been on a cruise either.  

[Innisfree]

Dd submitted her renewal immediately before Christmas, and received her passport about a week ago, without expediting, fwiw.

[Sneezyone]

DD was told 6-9 weeks last week. She paid for expedited but in the capitol region things are usually quicker. Also in HI b/c they process in Oahu.

Edited February 27, 2023 by Sneezyone

[SKL]

I know ours were delayed because the applications got stuck in the Philadelphia post office for freaking ever.

But if the website already says they have your application, then the timelines they gave should be reasonably close, unless there was some complication.

Do they provide contact info to find out whether there's an issue?

[Bootsie]

2 hours ago, SKL said:

I know ours were delayed because the applications got stuck in the Philadelphia post office for freaking ever.

But if the website already says they have your application, then the timelines they gave should be reasonably close, unless there was some complication.

Do they provide contact info to find out whether there's an issue?

No, there is no information given on how to speak to a person to check on things.  There is the "don't reply to this email because this address is unattended".  It does give a link to the website to log in and check on status.  It gives my renewal number, date, what I paid for, etc. and simply says "in process"--WHEN the site works; there are three separate times that I have tried logging in and the site simply is "just wait"--ball spinning (and I know it isn't my internet or computer because other sites will be working fine).  That is how messed up their system is.  

[bibiche]

17 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

No, there is no information given on how to speak to a person to check on things.  There is the "don't reply to this email because this address is unattended".  It does give a link to the website to log in and check on status.  It gives my renewal number, date, what I paid for, etc. and simply says "in process"--WHEN the site works; there are three separate times that I have tried logging in and the site simply is "just wait"--ball spinning (and I know it isn't my internet or computer because other sites will be working fine).  That is how messed up their system is.  

You can definitely call and have someone move it along.  1-877-487-2778 That’s the number for the National Passport Information Center.

Edited February 28, 2023 by bibiche

[lewelma]

I know someone who was so desperate to get her 16-year old daughter a passport that she booked a ticket to China with under 14 days, so that she was allowed to go in person to a passport office in the USA. The only in-person office with any openings was in Seattle and she lives in San Fran. So she flew both herself and her daughter to Seattle and spent the money on a hotel. The passport was required because the Chinese dad had died in China, and to process the will in China they needed international ID within 2 weeks for the daughter who was in the will. This was the only way to get it. After she got it, she cancelled the ticket to China. 

Edited February 28, 2023 by lewelma

[Lecka]

I got a renewal for a lost and expired passport recently and it took 2 months, from August to September.  
 

I hope this means you will have yours in another week!

 

 

[Bootsie]

28 minutes ago, lewelma said:

I know someone who was so desperate to get her 16-year old daughter a passport that she booked a ticket to China with under 14 days, so that she was allowed to go in person to a passport office in the USA. The only in-person office with any openings was in Seattle and she lives in San Fran. So she flew both herself and her daughter to Seattle and spent the money on a hotel. The passport was required because the Chinese dad had died in China, and to process the will in China they needed international ID within 2 weeks for the daughter who was in the will. This was the only way to get it. After she got it, she cancelled the ticket to China. 

Oh my!  I am glad she was able to get it. 

[TechWife]

Try calling one of your US Senators or Representative and ask for someone to check on it for you. Their staff help with problems like this all the time. Years ago when ds was a preschooler his passport didn’t arrive and I called one of our Senators - his staff located the passport right down to exactly which post office it was in and told me what day to expect it to arrive at our house. 

[lanabug]

Ugh, this makes me so nervous! We just submitted our applications for new passports last week. We're traveling the 2nd week of May. We did pay for expedited processing and delivery, so hopefully they'll be here in plenty of time. The lady at the post office said we didn't need the expedited service, they were processing in 3-5 weeks, but I didn't feel comfortable with that. The State Department website said 5-7 weeks which really cuts it close. 

[Bootsie]

17 hours ago, bibiche said:

You can definitely call and have someone move it along.  1-877-487-2778 That’s the number for the National Passport Information Center.

Have you ever called that number?  I have tried calling numerous times and simpy get a busy signal.  

[Bootsie]

15 hours ago, TechWife said:

Try calling one of your US Senators or Representative and ask for someone to check on it for you. Their staff help with problems like this all the time. Years ago when ds was a preschooler his passport didn’t arrive and I called one of our Senators - his staff located the passport right down to exactly which post office it was in and told me what day to expect it to arrive at our house. 

To me, this is at the heart of the problem.  Why does an elected official's staff need to be helping with problems like this all of the time?  Why don't they fix the overall problem instead?  

DH had problems with social security a few years ago and finally contacted our representative.  Her office had a form for him to fill out and her staff got the problem resolved, like they routinely do. Now, he is supposed to be thankful to her for her wonderful, kind help (hint---be indebted to her and re-elect her).   I wish our elected officials would fix the problems in governmental offices instead of spinning wheels reacting to the inefficiency.  

[mommyoffive]

Just read this

US passport applications are backlogged again — with wait times as high as 11 weeks — just in time for Spring break (msn.com)

[Sneezyone]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Just read this

US passport applications are backlogged again — with wait times as high as 11 weeks — just in time for Spring break (msn.com)

It’s definitely a problem. DDs friend and fellow senior trip traveler applied in Dec. not sure if hers is back yet or not but they’re in a different service area. Definitely seems like planning WAY ahead is in order. DD isn’t cruising until June.

[SquirrellyMama]

6 hours ago, lanabug said:

Ugh, this makes me so nervous! We just submitted our applications for new passports last week. We're traveling the 2nd week of May. We did pay for expedited processing and delivery, so hopefully they'll be here in plenty of time. The lady at the post office said we didn't need the expedited service, they were processing in 3-5 weeks, but I didn't feel comfortable with that. The State Department website said 5-7 weeks which really cuts it close. 

Oh man, glad you paid for expedited processing. We process applications at our library, and we are saying end of April for expedited and end of May for regular processing. The State Dept is saying 5 - 7 weeks for expedited and 8-11 weeks for regular. 

On 2/27/2023 at 2:38 PM, ScoutTN said:

Dd’s application went in mid-December and no passport yet. SE region, so the New Orleans office. 

Unfortunately, they do sometimes end up in other processing centers for some odd reason. We keep track of the applications we send, and they will sometimes end up in other states than the ones that we send to which are TX and PA. And, when we call to ask why this happens they tell us not to question it. 

I do hope everyone's passports come in on time. I get so stressed sending in applications! My own took the full 11 weeks to get processed, as did my daughter's. My son's actually took far less time. Half the time it really makes no sense.

[ScoutTN]

43 minutes ago, SquirrellyMama said:

Oh man, glad you paid for expedited processing. We process applications at our library, and we are saying end of April for expedited and end of May for regular processing. The State Dept is saying 5 - 7 weeks for expedited and 8-11 weeks for regular. 

Unfortunately, they do sometimes end up in other processing centers for some odd reason. We keep track of the applications we send, and they will sometimes end up in other states than the ones that we send to which are TX and PA. And, when we call to ask why this happens they tell us not to question it. 

I do hope everyone's passports come in on time. I get so stressed sending in applications! My own took the full 11 weeks to get processed, as did my daughter's. My son's actually took far less time. Half the time it really makes no sense.

How do I track her application? No one answers that phone number posted upthread. 

[Murphy101]

We literally just left the post office after applying for passports for the 4 youngest kids. (Can y’all believe my youngest ones are now 6.5, 11, 14 and 16?! Bc I’m struggling to believe it myself.)

There’s actually another fee to investigate what’s going on with your passport processing. But the reality is, there’s nothing you can do about it. It’ll get to you when it gets to you.

No amount of being upset will change the staffing or specialty paper shortage.  Unless you qualify for an urgent passport processing, it’s not going to change that it will take however long it takes.

I hope it comes in soon and the digital update is lacking behind actually delivery. 

[shawthorne44]

There is a reason Government Efficiency is a joke.   I am actually shocked when they do something efficiently.   For example, I was in and out of the SS office when I changed to my married name in 15 minutes.   It was a topic of conversation that shocked people.   Changing my driver's license took 12 hours cumulatively over three days.  

[SquirrellyMama]

3 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

 

Sorry, misread the quoted post, ended up making a new post with the answer  instead of editing this one. My brain is on a beach somewhere while my body is still in Iowa 😂

Edited March 1, 2023 by SquirrellyMama

[busymama7]

They told us yesterday we could track it online. 

[SquirrellyMama]

3 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

How do I track her application? No one answers that phone number posted upthread. 

I just looked back at your post. There are 2 things. To track online go to the State Department website and there is a passport tracking area. It is helpful, but not always updated. It will tell you when they received it which can help you figure out how long it will take.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/need-passport/status.html

You said you sent it in mid-December, so I would say it could be early March when you get it. The holidays were a bad time for quick mail so it could have taken extra time to get there. Processing is taking up to 11 weeks so it might be March.

 

Kelly

Edited March 1, 2023 by SquirrellyMama

[matrips]

Trio did their adult passport applications, so in person.  Dd on 1/31.  Status is still unavailable, and after being on hold for 3 hours today with that phone number, the guy said he couldn’t find any record of it either in his system.  Went to check further, and then click. Got disconnected 😭.  3 hours!!

the boys went on 2/1 to the passport office, a day after dd, and the status shows received as of 2/8.

I won’t be calling back 😂.  Guess we’ll just hope stuff shows up someday in the mail 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

 

[bibiche]

9 hours ago, Bootsie said:

Have you ever called that number?  I have tried calling numerous times and simpy get a busy signal.  

Yup. And I tried just now and got through immediately. I doubt there is a real person at this hour, but maybe you can leave a number for a callback or have better options than you do online (I didn’t go through the system to find out).

[Condessa]

On 2/27/2023 at 11:53 AM, Bootsie said:

.You can't make an appointment and simply do it in person unless you have travel plans in the next 14 days.  Which I would never want to get down to the point where I have tickets and have to count on getting an appointment.

My brother dealt with this last summer when he was desperate to get his passport in time for his language immersion program in Central America by booking a bus ticket from San Diego to Tijawana so he could truthfully say, “I have a ticket booked to travel to Mexico in ten days.” and could then get an emergency appointment.

[cbollin]

thank you for starting this thread.  It made me look at our passports and see who needs to deal with renewal this year. oh dear, we have one expiring in a few weeks and another one after that this year.  good thing no trips planned soon.  but just time to renew.  thanks for heads up on timing issues. appreciate it

[busymama7]

10 hours ago, Condessa said:

My brother dealt with this last summer when he was desperate to get his passport in time for his language immersion program in Central America by booking a bus ticket from San Diego to Tijawana so he could truthfully say, “I have a ticket booked to travel to Mexico in ten days.” and could then get an emergency appointment.

Can you do this if you've already submitted for one?

[SquirrellyMama]

42 minutes ago, busymama7 said:

Can you do this if you've already submitted for one?

If you have travel plans already and it gets to the 2 week mark, absolutely. If you don't have plans and just want your passport faster, don't do it. You often have to travel to a Passport Agency to do this, and there might not be an appointment near where you live. We have a family that figured out their kids' passports were expired and are traveling for Spring Break to Italy. They had to wait a week to even call to get an emergency appointment. And, the only appointments were in TX and CO, we are in IA. And, I think that was even with the senator's office help.

[Bootsie]

Yesterday morning I tried to log into the site to check the status of my renewal.  The site was not working.  I would get that it would redirect in 10 seconds--but wouldn't.  Finally in the afternoon it worked; all I could see was that my renewal was "in process".  

I tried calling and repeatedly got a busy signal.  Finally I got a recorded answer in the mid-afternoon.  The ONLY way to speak to a person was to push the button that I had a trip in the next 2 weeks; any of the other options simply give you a recording to check the website.  I finally had a woman come on the line and ask my name, application renewal number, date, etc. Then she asked if I had checked online.  When I said that I had and it simply said "in process" her response was "I don't have any access to anything other than what you see when you look online.  All I can do is tell you it is in process."  When I asked about travel within the next 2 weeks she said, "Well if you have travel scheduled you can try and see if there is an appointment available to go to an office; once you are at the office they can see more about where it is in the process.  There may or may not be an appointment available. You have to talk to someone else about that"  She then transferred me to another recording that all representatives were busy and estimated wait time was "more than one hour."  I was on hold for about an hour until I had to hang up; I have no idea how long it would have been.

Last night I received an email that my passport had been processed!  The tracking information says it was delivered to the USPS in Tucson yesterday morning.  So, don't count on checking online giving you correct information.  Now we will see when I actually receive it.  

 

[SquirrellyMama]

1 hour ago, Bootsie said:

So, don't count on checking online giving you correct information.  Now we will see when I actually receive it.  

When I checked mine to kept saying "In Process" then after 10 weeks it says it was mailed. I looked again for fun and it said it was approved and was going to be printed. I think that was the day I got my passport. Their messages get a bit mixed up ☺️

[busymama7]

3 hours ago, SquirrellyMama said:

If you have travel plans already and it gets to the 2 week mark, absolutely. If you don't have plans and just want your passport faster, don't do it. You often have to travel to a Passport Agency to do this, and there might not be an appointment near where you live. We have a family that figured out their kids' passports were expired and are traveling for Spring Break to Italy. They had to wait a week to even call to get an emergency appointment. And, the only appointments were in TX and CO, we are in IA. And, I think that was even with the senator's office help.

Thanks. At least this is an option..

  We are checking to see if it's even needed.  We are cruising to Bahamas from Florida and it seems like we don't need it but aren't for sure for sure. 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

We are cruising in May of 2024. My travel agent advised getting our passports now because the wait times seem to be so long.

[SKL]

I seem to recall that my passport arrived in my mailbox a bit before the online info was updated from "in process."  So there is a bit of lag time before they update the website.

[ScoutTN]

Dd’s arrived today. Almost 12 weeks since we submitted the application. 

[LucyStoner]

My son is traveling to Europe this summer.  He needed his passport earlier than that for the travel group he’s going with.  My husband wasn’t sure what to do but noticed that he could get an in person appointment if he was traveling in 14 days with proof of travel plans.  He booked a refundable trip out of the country as a workaround.  After he got the passport, he cancelled that trip.  I never would have thought of this but my husband figured it was worth a shot so our son didn’t miss the group trip this summer.

I mentioned this at work today and apparently that’s a workaround that other people have resorted to! Proceed with caution and don’t book something that isn’t refundable.  

Edited March 21, 2023 by LucyStoner

[matrips]

My kids’ status just changed to shipped.  Yay!  I‘ve been stalking that status page. Lol.
In person application on Feb 1.  Showed received/processing Feb 8. Ready to ship Mar 21. So less than 6 weeks for processing.  

Edited March 21, 2023 by matrips

[Kuovonne]

@matrips Did you pay for expedited service? Do you know which location processed your applications?

I'm also stalking the status page. Our applications are 6 weeks out and 4 weeks out, and we paid for expedited service. Still in progress on both.

[matrips]

20 hours ago, Kuovonne said:

@matrips Did you pay for expedited service? Do you know which location processed your applications?

I'm also stalking the status page. Our applications are 6 weeks out and 4 weeks out, and we paid for expedited service. Still in progress on both.

Regular processing.  Miami. 

[Kuovonne]

Maybe there is some magic in posting to this thread. My application that is six weeks since acceptance was just updated to “shipped”. I did pay for expedited service. 
 

The application that is four weeks old is still in progress, but I am feeling a little less nervous about it. I was able to find out that the application is at a passport agency that is within driving distance if we run up against a deadline. I also read that if you have a passport in progress at this location and need it in a hurry, you have to have proof of travel in 5 days, not 14. Eek. Hope it doesn’t come to that. 

[Sneezyone]

DDs just arrived today and she processed it at the post office on 2/17. She paid for expedited processing (which I thought was overkill) but it was super fast. I think this has more to do with our proximity to DC than anything else. ETA: She had a recently expired juvenile passport (which they didn't return) so maybe that helped too. These new passports are SNAZZY! I'll be sad if my old, stamped one isn't returned when I renew. That used to be SOP.

Edited March 23, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Kuovonne]

11 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

which they didn't return

It will be returned in a separate mailing. It can take a few additional weeks for submitted paperwork to be returned, but I always get original documents back. The returned passports sometimes have a hole punched or a corner clipped to indicate that they are invalid. 

[Moonhawk]

We applied end of February for DD for a May trip once we knew it was happening, and paid for expedited. When we paid for expedited, they said current times are 3-5 weeks. I've been tracking online, and I've noticed the quoted time on the Expedited service has been changing. At first it said 3-5 weeks. Last week it started to say 5-7 weeks. This morning when I check it says "Expedited service can take 7-9 weeks." 

Meanwhile, travel company wants a copy of her passport application so they can make airline reservations with her name exactly as it will appear on the passport. Except.. we had to change a section while we were applying at the post office and so we just did a whole new application, and I don't have a copy of that. Here's to hoping I can get it right!

I wouldn't be so stressed about it, really, except my mom is involved in all this planning (she is traveling with DD). She has never traveled out of country herself before AND she is a highly anxious person with nothing else to focus on right now. So she is raising all of the stress levels when it really shouldn't be THIS stressful.

[Kuovonne]

If anyone is keeping track, both of our passports have arrived. Although the applications were made about a week apart, there was a three week difference in when the passports arrived at home. We paid for expedited service for both. 
 

I subscribed to email updates for both applications. For the first application, I got an email when the application was updated to “accepted”. That was the only email notification I ever got. For the second application, I never got any email updates. (I was still checking the website for status updates every couple of days.) I never got an email notification about either passport being mailed.

I paid for expedited processing for both applications. When I made the passport acceptance appointment, expedited wait times were 3-5 weeks. By the time we actually submitted the applications, expedited wait times were 5-7 weeks. The first passport arrived at around 6 weeks, just before the expedited window increased to 7-9 weeks. The second passport arrived at around 8 weeks. In both cases, the passport wait time was within the window for when it actually arrived (versus the window when the application was submitted).

I did not pay for expedited mailing for either application. We are close to a passport agency, and mailing was very quick for both passport books. The passport card took longer and arrived in a separate mailing. (Haven’t received the second passport card yet or any original documents, but not worried about either.)