Anyone else get “scammed” by the State department?

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

Under promise and over deliver.

I'd be pleased as punch I have a new passport in hand for her. Murphy's Law that you didn't expedite it and it took the length posted on the website after all.

I usually don’t take unnecessary risks, so Murphy’s Law was a critical reason for expediting it. I just knew “I’ll expedite it, and it’ll come back in 6 weeks. But if I don’t expedite, it’ll take 11, plus 2 extra because of the holidays”. If I knew “8-11 weeks” really meant “4-11 weeks”, I probably still would have expedited it anyway.

 

[Allison]

So they did better than what was expected and it was a problem for you. Got it.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

Maybe, but I think you're looking at it wrong. At any given time, that wait could be 1 hour. Just because it's 20 minutes at 3:40 (for example), by the time you show up at 4, it could be an hour. Same with passports. Sure, non-expedited could take 4-5 weeks. OR it could take 11. If the government would have said "4-11 weeks", what would you have done? Would you still have paid the extra money?

I think you need to look at the WORST case and decide from there. If I had a trip in 12 weeks and didn't have passports, yes, I would pay for expedited. BUT, if I had a trip in 16 weeks, I don't think I would have.

Thats really my concern though. If the wait times say “up to 1 hour”, or “on average…”, or “20-60 minutes”, and the lines really 20 minutes, then no problem if it takes 20 min or 1 hour… or 150 min. But if you state “service level A = 6-8 weeks” and”service level B = 8-11 weeks”, then Service level B taking 4 weeks is a problem.

if they indicated normal processing was 4-11 weeks, I still would have expedited. But if they had said 4-9 weeks, I wouldn’t have.

there is one poster who has reported an 11 week wait, so I am less concerned now.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

So they did better than what was expected and it was a problem for you. Got it.

Please read the posts before you make a comment like this. You’ve completely missed the problem. Unless your only purpose is to feel superior, and put others down. If so, you nailed that!

 

[sam_gordon]

Thats really my concern though. If the wait times say “up to 1 hour”, or “on average…”, or “20-60 minutes”, and the lines really 20 minutes, then no problem if it takes 20 min or 1 hour… or 150 min. But if you state “service level A = 6-8 weeks” and”service level B = 8-11 weeks”, then Service level B taking 4 weeks is a problem.

if they indicated normal processing was 4-11 weeks, I still would have expedited. But if they had said 4-9 weeks, I wouldn’t have.

there is one poster who has reported an 11 week wait, so I am less concerned now.

But see, that's my point. It really doesn't matter whether the first number is accurate or not. The IMPORTANT one is the second number. The "worst case". And, as evidenced by PP, since 11 weeks is a possibility, it behooves the government to include that as an option. It's more important for me to know it COULD take 11 weeks to get my passport. If I have a trip planned happening sooner than about 15 weeks (my opinion and could be changed), it's going to benefit me to expedite it. Even if only 1% of applications take 11 weeks, I'd figure Murphy's law would bite me and I'd be in that 1%.

 

[Colleen27]

We “renewed” DD16 passport in August this year. Both of us parents were not required to be at the appointment, so it was just her and me.

16 is the cutoff for that. 15 and under need both parents and get the 5 year expiration, 16-17 only need one and don't have to renew for 10.

 

[sam_gordon]

16 is the cutoff for that. 15 and under need both parents and get the 5 year expiration, 16-17 only need one and don't have to renew for 10.

Looks like 16-17 just need a written from one parent. Parent doesn't need to be there in person.

Answer: Minors age 16 must establish parental consent when applying for a new passport. If consent is not implied on the application form, then it can be provided in written form or by the presence of a parent.

Source

 

[QueenIsabella]

We “renewed” DD16 passport in August this year. Both of us parents were not required to be at the appointment, so it was just her and me.

Thanks for mentioning this! Last time, both younger kids were under 16, so DH and I were both there. DD18 was, well, 18, so no parent needed. I'll still go with DS15 (16 next month), because we'll fill out the forms there. For our older kids, now 26 and 24, they were either 18 or under 16 when they got their first passport.

 

[design_mom]

We renewed my daughter's last August when they were saying 12-18 weeks. We did not expedite and it ended up taking 10 weeks. So, it was less than they estimated, but not a LOT less. I'm glad you got your expedited passport so quickly, but I'm not sure you can translate the fast processing time of your expedited passport to mean that your non-expedited would have come almost as quickly.

 

[lilaurora]

Pretty sure once someone turns 16, parents are no longer required. 15 and under, both parents are required (or have the waiver) and passports are only good for 5 years.

I do remember that the person said she could come by herself, but she wasn’t feeling confident enough so I went with.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm not sure you can translate the fast processing time of your expedited passport to mean that your non-expedited would have come almost as quickly.

Yeah this is probably the reason why the complaint (even in jest) happened because the passport arrived in less time than expected so the OP was thinking "well why did I just spend that extra money" in the end though it's just really a gamble. I would probably approach it like I paid it, no looking back now.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

Yeah this is probably the reason why the complaint (even in jest) happened because the passport arrived in less time than expected so the OP was thinking "well why did I just spend that extra money" in the end though it's just really a gamble. I would probably approach it like I paid it, no looking back now.

this is pretty much it - but it wasn’t so much that I got it early, it’s that I received it in less than half of the minimum estimate they provided, and that included having two holidays in there. And of the 20 or so people I’ve heard from, over half of them received theirs in similar time frames (half of the minimum time estimate). One poster even had the exact same return time for an expedited and non-expedited renewal mailed out at the same time. Only one person so far has said it took close to the maximum.

I’m not at all bothered by it really - it’s a tiny expense in light of the amount we spend on travel. It just seems the estimates they provide, and which people use to make decisions on whether to pay to expedite, are out of touch with reality.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

But see, that's my point. It really doesn't matter whether the first number is accurate or not. The IMPORTANT one is the second number. The "worst case". And, as evidenced by PP, since 11 weeks is a possibility, it behooves the government to include that as an option. It's more important for me to know it COULD take 11 weeks to get my passport. If I have a trip planned happening sooner than about 15 weeks (my opinion and could be changed), it's going to benefit me to expedite it. Even if only 1% of applications take 11 weeks, I'd figure Murphy's law would bite me and I'd be in that 1%.

The first number is important too - definitely less important though. The first number sets the “you’re not getting it any sooner than…” expectation. If I knew that it was taking 4-11 weeks, I might make the decision that it’s very likely I would get it by week 10. Change that to 8-11 weeks, and now week 10 seems possible, but not worth taking a risk.

Now combine the fact that there are two service levels. “8-11 weeks” combined with “6-8 weeks” makes it seem like the only way to make sure you get it by 8 weeks is to expedite it.

“6-8 weeks” and “8-11 weeks” - if you want it in week 8, there no way you would not expedite.

“2-8 weeks” and ”4-11 weeks” and you might make a different decision.

Depends on how risk adverse someone would be when making the decision. I don’t usually expect I’ll be in that 1% - but I do plan I might be in the 10%. (Lol - my wife always plans for that 1% - she carries an old phone in her purse in case she ever getsrobbed and asked for (just) her phone!)

like I’ve said - I knew when I asked for expedited service, I was really paying an “insurance” fee, so there was no risk of getting it late. It just seems the info they’re providing is insufficient for making a good decision (only a “worst case” one)

 

[Allison]

Please read the posts before you make a comment like this. You’ve completely missed the problem. Unless your only purpose is to feel superior, and put others down. If so, you nailed that!

I read them all. I haven't missed what you perceive the problem to be at all.

 

[sam_gordon]

Depends on how risk adverse someone would be when making the decision. I don’t usually expect I’ll be in that 1% - but I do plan I might be in the 10%. (Lol - my wife always plans for that 1% - she carries an old phone in her purse in case she ever getsrobbed and asked for (just) her phone!)

This I agree with you on. I'm one who "hopes for the best, plan for the worst". Since we don't know where the bell curve lies (do 50% of the people get their passports back at 6 weeks? 8 weeks? 10 weeks?), IMO it's SAFER to assume you'll be at the latter part of the estimated delivery time than to assume you'll be at the front half. As I've said multiple times, if I needed my passport within about 15 weeks, I'd expedite. Just because the government ESTIMATES I'll get it back by week 11, that's a chance I'm not willing to take.

The bottom line, again IMO, is you're mad at the government because YOU didn't do your homework. If you had done the proper research and known your daughter's passport expired earlier, you would have applied earlier and not had to pay expedited.

Our DD turns 16 in the end of February. If we wait until then, her passport is good for 10 years instead of 5. We have a cruise planned the middle of July. So we should have 18 weeks to get it back. BUT, understanding what happened last year with extended times, we didn't want to take the chance. So we got her the 5 year version. As you said, it depends on how much of a risk you want to take.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

The bottom line, again IMO, is you're mad at the government because YOU didn't do your homework. If you had done the proper research and known your daughter's passport expired earlier, you would have applied earlier and not had to pay expedited.

we’re mostly in agreement, but I’m mad at the person who’s putting the info up on the website.

I’m not at all mad at spending $60 - if there were truly a good reason to expedite, that’s an insignificant amount, and that’s what my not knowing the passport expired sooner cost.

I’m mad because the information that’s provided is not correct, and that’s the only information you can get (from the government) about how to make the decision. And as we’ve seen from the feedback, instead of 8-11 weeks, normal processing is taking 4-11 weeks. Can you honestly say that the majority of the people would make the same decision if it said 4-11, instead of 8-11?

again, the expedited timeframe was 6-8 weeks. If I had received it in 6 weeks (or 5 weeks, or 8 weeks), I would have said “great! It’s here!”. No concern about paying the expedite fee, so I disagree I’m mad because I didn’t see sooner that the expiration was this year. But instead, it came back in 2 weeks (give or take), and most everyone has told me “I got my non-expedited back in 4 weeks”. Which leads me to believe that the information shown is bogus - and that I am mad about.

How hard is it to provide accurate information for people to use? Especially when you cut off all their other avenues of getting info. You can’t call them, you can’t go into the local passport office directly (here in Seattle anyway, and it looks like only sometimes in other areas). Sure, you can go on message boards, but who knows the accuracy of the info you’re getting. It just seems that accurate processing time guidance shouldn’t be too much to ask for from our tax (and expedite fee) dollars.

 

[allison443]

on the flip side, I’ve had great experiences with the State department people I’ve been working with on this passport (sent an oldcheck with an expired routing number, and then my wife sent in the senders receipt portion of the cashiers check, instead of the actual cashiers check to fix the payment) - they’ve been professional, and followed up on the issue quickly.

So you/your wife somehow managed to mess up your payment TWO separate times, making two different mistakes, and the State Department had to straighten out your errors, and they still got the passport to you quickly? And you’re complaining about them?
Kudos to the State Department!

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

So you/your wife somehow managed to mess up your payment TWO separate times, making two different mistakes, and the State Department had to straighten out your errors, and they still got the passport to you quickly? And you’re complaining about them?
Kudos to the State Department!

They send out the passports with a letter indicating you need to send payment or else it will be voided, so it didn’t affect the return time at all.

I did mention that I’ve had great experiences with actual people at theState department, so I was never complaining about the actual people, only the bad information they have posted on their site.

And yes - we did mess up payment twice! I can’t remember the last time I used a check, and apparently my bank switched their routing number, so time to order new checks. I have no idea how my wife sent in the purchaser receipt portion of the cashiers check, but watching a 5yo, running her consulting business, being the class Mom, and the preschools auction fundraising chair is keeping her pretty busy and distracted.

 

[sam_gordon]

Can you honestly say that the majority of the people would make the same decision if it said 4-11, instead of 8-11?

um, yes, I believe so. According to the Department of State Website:

• As of October 29, routine processing is 8 to 11 weeks and expedite processing (for an additional $60) is 5 to 7 weeks.

First, notice the date. The way things are changing with the pandemic, October was a REALLY long time ago. But, let's say their times are accurate. Now it depends on when you NEED the passport.

Taking their times as EXACT:
* If you need a passport within the next one to five weeks, you will have to do some real work, because neither way will get you the passport.
* If you need a passport at the five to seven week range, you should at least expedite. BUT, you have no idea how the percentage breaks down. Do 10% get theirs at 5 weeks, 80% at 6 weeks, and 10% at 7 weeks? Or maybe 10% at 5, 10% at 6, and 80% at 7? Or 90% at 5, 9% at 6 and 1% at 7? To me, it only makes sense to count on expedited if your trip is in 8-10 weeks.
* And it's the same with routine processing. You have no idea (based on the information given) when you'll get the passport in the 8 to 11 week range. So, if your trip is less than 11 weeks out, expedite it.

Those are some really wide ranges. I think the prudent customer would assume it's going to take the longer end of the window. If I have a trip in 10 1/2 weeks, it doesn't make sense to ask for routine processing when there's a chance (even if it's 1%) the passport shows up on day 77 (11 weeks). If you think it makes sense to gamble, that's on you.

Oh, and since you're arguing "they shouldn't put bad information out", this is on the same page:

Apply at least 4-6 months before planned travel.

Link

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Oh, and since you're arguing "they shouldn't put bad information out", this is on the same page

While I agree it's always good to do it early that part you quoted was about in-person appointments. They are just trying to tell you because of the pandemic people who have much more pressing situations will be seen first. That's been on there since close to the beginning of the pandemic. It also only applies to "This change only impacts appointments at the U.S. Department of State's 26 passport agencies and centers. This change does not impact the appointment booking process at passport acceptance facilities which include post offices, libraries, and other local government offices."

The specific time line listed doesn't apply to mailed applications.