Received our passports today

[DisDee]

We applied for our passports on Tuesday, Feb 19 and received them today. That's 12 days start to finish for both my DH and myself. I was impressed!

 

[dahuffy]

Isn't it a great feeling!* Makes the trip seem that much more real.

 

[wonderapril2007]

That's great to hear! We applied this past Wednesday and wasn't expecting them until the 2nd week of April which will put it pretty close to our sail date of April 27th. I'm hoping we get them quickly as well.

 

[Jusacuz]

That's great! I remember applying for mine this time last year and it took more than 12 weeks. Hopefully, turn around will still be quick later this summer when DH applies for his.

 

[DisDee]

I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly they arrived. We live in NJ and the Passports were post-marked from Charleston, SC (priority mail). When my DH did the on-line tracking on Friday, it said they were ready to mail, and surprise, we rec'd them on Sat.

Receiving them really does make our vacation seem that much closer-just over 2 months away!

 

[ilisao]

After last year's fiasco, the State Department has really gotten its act together. I know someone who received their passport in a week.

It does make it more real, and having that passport means FREEDOM to go anywhere!!! Woo-hoo! Cruise away!

 

[dlz]

We are cruising in August and I am preparing to get our passports. I was wondering if someone could answer some questions for me. First, how much is a passport, regular mail, for an adult? Second, my kids both have passports already, expired in 05, and they are ages 13 and 17 now. Do I get a discount to renew, or is it full price? Lastly, how far in advance should I send away for them? It seems passports are very expensive to me. Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[Belle Beast]

We just went last Saturday to a local library that does photos and processing (one stop shopping). We didn't expect our for 4 - 6 weeks so any near 12 days would be great.

 

[gonemousin']

We are cruising in August and I am preparing to get our passports. I was wondering if someone could answer some questions for me. First, how much is a passport, regular mail, for an adult? Second, my kids both have passports already, expired in 05, and they are ages 13 and 17 now. Do I get a discount to renew, or is it full price? Lastly, how far in advance should I send away for them? It seems passports are very expensive to me. Thanks for any help you can give me.

This website should answer all your questions:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

Fees:
1. Routine Service (Form DS-11) - Non-Refundable
Passport Book Application Fee (Age 16 & Older) $75; Execution Fee $25; Total $100
Passport Book Application Fee (Under age 16) $60; Execution Fee $25; Total $85


2. Routine Renewal by Mail (Form DS-82) - Non-Refundable
Passport Book (Eligible adult applicants) Total - $75


Unfortunately, because your children were both under 16 when their passports were initially issued, they will need to apply in person as opposed to mailing in a renewal request...which I believe means you'll need to pay the $25 execution fee in addition to the application fee. That's how I understand it, but hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong! For adults, you don't get a discount to renew, but you can do it via mail and you only have to pay the application fee.

Yes, passports are expensive but they seem to be a semi-necessity these days. There is a less expensive "Passport Card" that you can get now ($45 total for 16+ -- $20 app fee, $25 execution; $35 under 16 -- $10 app fee, $25 execution) but you cannot travel by air with a passport card; only by car or sea (cruises). It's a more affordable option, but again, you can't fly with it and I think I'd rather have the full passport book in case there's an emergency and need to fly home from a port of call...that and if I'm going to pay the $25 execution fee anyway, I might as well shell out the extra $$ for the unrestricted passport book. Just my opinion of course.

As for a timeline...they are currently processing them very quickly as folks have mentioned above. If I were you, I'd go ahead and apply for them now...one less thing to stress about before your trip. Good luck!!

 

[wonderapril2007]

We received out passports yesterday. It took only 2 weeks.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

Applied for mine on Feb 29th, and hope it is here next week.

 

[momo&hanhan]

We applied for our passports last Friday March 7th. We were told we would have them back in 4 to 6 weeks. However, since all of you are getting them much quicker we may get a surprise.
It would be nice to have this part of the trip prep complete (these are our first set of passports so we are a little unsure of what to expect).

 

[richsilver]

Just got ours also.2adults 2 kids took just at a month.

Must have been that non-raised blue seal on mine.



rich

 

[My4PhillyGirls]

We are a family of five. The wife and I dragged the family down to the post office on Saturday 3/1. We were told that the process would take about 3 weeks. I got a email stating that they were processed yesterday and they arrived today.

We were very excited until my oldest daughter stated that they had her birthday wrong. It was off by two days. We called and they stated that we should return the passport with a note and a copy of her birth certificate to the address on the envelope and they would correct the error at no charge.

 

[dpratt68]

Should I be nervous. I just passed the 3 week mark. I had an old one from when i was a child that I did turn in could that be slowing it down????

 

[My4PhillyGirls]

Should I be nervous. I just passed the 3 week mark. I had an old one from when i was a child that I did turn in could that be slowing it down????

I would'nt be concerned yet. We put an artificial trip date of May hoping that it would make it come back quicker. I doubt that it had anything to do with the timing of the processing.

This is the first time for all of us.

Have you checked on line at their website to see how things are going?

 

[momo&hanhan]

We just received our passports. We went the morning of Friday March 7th to the post office in North Carolina. They said that the passport info would have to go to Charleston South Carolina and then to New Orleans, Louisiana. Anyway they are back now and today is Monday March 17th. So 10 days total or 6.5 business days.
I am amazed.