PSA regarding PASSPORTS

[MaryAnnDVC]

UPDATE 3/25/07...according to the passport website...

Currently, it is taking up to 1 week for Expedited Applications and up to 4 weeks for Routine Applications to be tracked online. Please allow at least that time before checking the status of your application.

And checking the status of mine:

You should receive your passport within 10 weeks from the date you applied. However, if you are traveling within 2 weeks and have not received your passport, please contact the National Passport Information Center.

And, it no longer gives us a date to expect to receive it.

UPDATE 3/13/07...according to the passport website...

Currently, it is taking up to 7 days for Expedited Applications and up to 3 weeks for Routine Applications to be tracked online. Please allow at least that time before checking the status of your application.

And checking the status of mine:

should receive your passport within 10 weeks from the date you applied.

When we applied, it was 6 - 8 weeks. My DH and I applied a week apart, and mine shows up online as being due the day BEFORE his. I don't think that either of us will have them by the time we wanted them (we're not traveling...the kids are).

Original post:

Make sure you apply early enough! We kept putting it off for various reasons...mostly just life getting busy. Two years ago, when we got oldest DD's passport, it was MUCH faster.

We applied 1/8/07 for DD and DS. The due date at the PO was, I think, March 6. I checked online after a few weeks, and it said we should get it around Feb 20. They came yesterday (Feb 27), thankfully; the passports say they were issued 2/23. Their trips are in 6 weeks.

DH applied 15 days ago, and I applied 8 days ago. We only applied at the suggestion of the man who took the kids' applications at the PO, just in case anything should happen (ugh) while they're away and we have to go to them. Never even occurred to us before!

And when we first went to apply, DH's "birth certificate" wasn't valid (the PO guy said it was more of a "souvenir" from the hospital, not a valid BC) and he wasn't sure if mine was valid because it had an "issued" date, not a "filed" date. I had to jump through hoops to get a valid BC from NJ.

I checked online, and neither one of us is in the system right now. It says If you requested Routine Service:
It usually takes up to one week to begin tracking your application in our system. Due to the current high volume, it may take somewhat longer to begin tracking. And it obviously is. You CAN apply for expedited service/overnight delivery, which should take 2 - 3 days to show up in their system.

Even if you're not going anywhere, you might want to initiate getting a passport, with all the new rules about needing one. DH and I had no idea our BCs might not be vaild until we applied for passports. And...you never know when you might have to "flee the country."

 

[nuke]

I've heard stories of it taking up to 8 weeks for you to get your passport. I don't know if that has changed in the past few weeks or not.

As far as your status being on line. When my DH and DS applied last year they never showed up online. At the 6 week point I called and they were in the mail. We got them the next day.

 

[Annette_VA]

I have to get passports for the whole family for a June Bermuda trip. DH's and mine are expired plus mine is in my maiden name. The boys have never had one. I'm hoping it's not going to be too much of a PITA. I need to get cracking on this... Thanks for the reminder!

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

Last year when some of my friends were applying for passports for our Winter Term, they sent their request forms in right before Hurricane Katrina. Well, most of Indiana's passport requests go through New Orleans. So they did not know whether their forms were still in the system or not.
They all ended up getting their passports with not much of a delay at all.

 

[DVCLiz]

I second this!!! You don't want to be dealing with the stress of a passport at the last minute. I think it would be a good idea to go ahead and get everyone in the family a passport at some convenient time for you-even if you're not planning to travel. It's much easier to have it and renew on their schedule - then you'll know you always have it handy!!!

 

[jl]

Dh & I just did ours last week @ local post office. Going on Disney cruise next Feb. and our son said we needed them...we,too, found out our hospital issued bc's weren't good enough. We did have both our state issued bc's; however mine did not have a raised seal...quick trip to the clerk's office & $10 fee was the answer. The post office guy was very knowledgeable & made the process painless. Expect our passports to come in 6 wks or so.

 

[Jennasis]

Don't get me started! I applied for a passport on 1/19/07. I check the stupid online site to see the
'status" of my application and got that same "not-in-the-system" message, so I called the number listed (877-487-2778) for info. I was told to check to see if the check I wrote had been cashed...it had not. So finally ONE MONTH after I applied...the check cashed. This means (according to the guy at the 877 number) that I can NOW expect my passport in about 5 weeks. This would make the toal wait time for the passport 10 weeks!!!

My parents need passports for a trip they're taking. I urged them to pay the extra for expedited service and they are doing that.

As for the BC question, I had the same issue many years ago. There is a "souvenir" type certificate that hospitals issue and that's what I had. I needed to get the one with the actual seal from NYS on it. If you can't find your husbands BC, call that same number (1-877-487-2778) and ask customer service for the phone number for your states Department of vital records. You can order a new BC (expedite it of course).

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

If you can't find your husbands BC, call that same number (1-877-487-2778) and ask customer service for the phone number for your states Department of vital records. You can order a new BC (expedite it of course).

Good to know! Luckily, we live in RI and DH was born in RI, so he just went and picked up a new one. Also picked up a copy of our marriage certificate, because I also had to prove my name change, and I don't even know what we did with it since our wedding 23 years ago. (We now have 2 copies of EVERYONE'S birth certificate and our marriage certificate, all neatly filed away!)

I had to get my BC from NJ. I contacted the office in NJ, and they said to go through this website:

http://www.vitalchek.com/agency_locator.asp

Going through this website was only a way to PAY for it. I then had to fax a copy of my driver's license and my marriage certificate to the NJ office. (And, to make matters more complicated for NJ people, I don't think all the locations handle things the same way. ) When I tried to fax the info, I discovered that DH...when he set up the fax machine...somehow set it up to automatically put RI's area code in front of every phone number, so I couldn't dial out of RI.

and

to DH! I had to fax it to my DH at work (in RI), and then he faxed it to NJ. However, they couldn't read my license, so I had to enlarge it and do it again...send it to DH, to send to them. Then the NJ office's fax machine broke, so DH had to scan and email it to them. After that tho, I got my BC the next day, FedEx.

You just never know what delays you'll have.

 

[dolphinrescuegirl]

We went last night to get our passports. My BC is blue while DH's is all white. They accepted his BC but not mine. So I had my grandmother go to the courthouse in my birthtown (she still lives there) and they issued her another blue one like the one I already have and said that is the only accepted BC for passports! I'm extremely mad because these 2 places are contradicting each other!! I'm frustrated and not sure what to do!

 

[SeaShelley]

I checked online, and neither one of us is in the system right now. It says If you requested Routine Service:
It usually takes up to one week to begin tracking your application in our system. Due to the current high volume, it may take somewhat longer to begin tracking. And it obviously is. You CAN apply for expedited service/overnight delivery, which should take 2 - 3 days to show up in their system.
QUOTE]

They should really change this to say ONE MONTH, not one week. I applied on 1/16/07 and while the paperwork the postoffice gave me said 6 weeks or 2/27/08 the website the OP quoted above said I should have it by 3/10/07. It also took about 4 weeks before the tracking was available online.

Thankfully, we have plenty of time before we leave for Grand Cayman!!!!!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

bump

 

[lovemygoofy]

Our local paper here just had an article last week that says it's now at least 12 weeks for a passport and 6 weeks for a rushed order. If anyone needs one before the vacation season, they better hurry and put their order in ASAP

 

[cryssi]

geez...I knew I should have done it as soon as my passport expired last september...

I just sent in my renewal last week, but it should be plenty of time for the first of August...

...right??

 

[chesirechik]

You can use passport/visa companies like www.cibt.com to expediate the process. You pay more $$$, but may be worth it to some.

 

[cryssi]

OT, but Annette_VA your sig pic is the cutest thing!!

 

[Jennasis]

My parents applied for the expedited one and got it 7 days later (this was two weeks ago). I applied on Jan 19 for regular service and FINALLY got "in the system" about two weeks ago too. It now says I can expect my passport on or around 4/2/07.

FWIW the 800 number I quoted above is now playing an automated message that basically says SUCK IT UP and WAIT and quit calling. They don't even give you the option of speaking to a customer service agent anymore. I guess they truly are flooded with new apps.

 

[Kimberly815]

Geez. This is just making me more and more nervous!! I am going tomorrow to apply for mine for my cruise in Sept!!

 

[Beth76]

Geez. This is just making me more and more nervous!! I am going tomorrow to apply for mine for my cruise in Sept!!

Yes, I will be getting my boys' very soon for our cruise this fall. I'm usually bad about this type of stuff so I need to make sure I'm on top of this. They actually don't need them for the cruise, but I still want them just in case.

OP thank you for posting this. I didn't know it was that bad. I have a friend who will need one for her not-yet-born daughter for this fall. I warned her about this and I think she's probably going to be expediting it as well.

 

[Annette_VA]

OT, but Annette_VA your sig pic is the cutest thing!!

Thank you

-----

Back on topic, we went to the post office last week to get our passports done (seventh circle of Hell, I tell you!!). They were quoting 10-12 weeks and our departure date was 12 weeks + 4 days from the date we were at the post office, so we went ahead and did the expedited ones. I think I dropped over $500 on our 4 passports - and DH's and mine were renewals. Ugh.

I just could not get over the sheer number of people applying for passports. We got there and there were 2 families in front of us. By time we left, there were at least 30 people in line. Crazy!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I think what's happening is that the more they talk about how long it takes, the earlier and earlier people are applying (and I don't blame them), so it's really piling up right now.

FWIW the 800 number I quoted above is now playing an automated message that basically says SUCK IT UP and WAIT and quit calling.

On the one hand,

; on the other hand, for people who are waiting! (Like us!)