recent passport applications / renewals?

[jtba]

a friend is going on a cruise in mid-june but is unable to get a post office passport appt. for her child earlier than the end of march. she's wondering whether she should pay extra to expedite the application.

for those of you who renewed your passports in the past, say, two months, how long did it take you to get your passports back?

 

[Tasmen]

That should be enough time to get the passport. I would recommend making sure the child doesn't smile in their passport picture. This will help avoid the picture being rejected. That did happen with us recently.

 

[terkov]

We just got my daughters renewed at the local courthouse. We leave 2/10 and went to get it renewed 1/14. They quoted 2-3 weeks for expedited and 4-6 for regular. we paid the extra $60 to rush it and got it in 2 weeks. She should be fine but they can tell her when she gets there timing and she can decided then if she wants to pay the rush fee.

 

[Alexle2007]

Some of our local libraries have started taking passport applications with no appointment needed. We ended up doing this for DS since our post offices had long waits. There was a small fee but it was super convenient. You might want to check to see if any yours are offering this service.

 

[jtba]

Some of our local libraries have started taking passport applications with no appointment needed. We ended up doing this for DS since our post offices had long waits. There was a small fee but it was super convenient. You might want to check to see if any yours are offering this service.

thanks for the awesome tip! i will pass it on.

 

[bumbershoot]

Definitely have her look at the State Dept website to make sure she is seeing all of her options as to where to go. Different areas have different options for passport applications.

But...end of March for a mid-June trip? They have 2.5 months in there. I wouldn't expedite it, personally.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I'm going to need my renewal in the exact same timeframe and am not planning on paying for the expedited processing. My passport is expiring at the end of May and I was already planning to send it in for renewal immediately after my cruise at the end of March, thinking I didn't need it again until August. I found out last week that I will need it for a business trip mid-June. When we got my DD's passport in late 2014, we received it about 3 weeks after submitting the application. I have a friend who got passports for his kids last fall and received them in about the same amount of time. 4-6 weeks is considered standard processing time so I figure more than 8 weeks is plenty of time to get it without paying the extra fee.

 

[Muskegon78]

we just received our 2 daughter's passports, which were not expedited, in 3.5 weeks

 

[cyndiella]

Can you renew online??

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Can you renew online??

No. You have to mail in your current passport along with new photos and the appropriate forms for a renewal.

 

[katellynne]

what would y'all suggest if my 4 kids have july 2016 expiration dates. we sail 5/23 out of canada so i know i need to renew before the trip so that they are within the 6 months of expiration requirement. however we are also sailing 3/5. should i do it now and expedite or wait and do after the march cruise and expedite?

 

[mom4fun]

If you live in the US, does that 6 months expiration apply? What if it expires 4 months after the cruise?

 

[lanejudy]

what would y'all suggest if my 4 kids have july 2016 expiration dates. we sail 5/23 out of canada so i know i need to renew before the trip so that they are within the 6 months of expiration requirement. however we are also sailing 3/5. should i do it now and expedite or wait and do after the march cruise and expedite?

There is no 6-month requirement for U.S. passports to enter Canada. As long as the passport has not expired (sounds like July 2016 in your case) you'll be fine for both sailings and renew this summer.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[Mousemommy1]

We applied for the kids' passports on 1/15 and got them back on 1/29 (exactly 2 weeks later). I was shocked at how fast it was. I am glad we did not pay for the expedited shipping!

 

[jahber]

I've had pretty good experiences with the state department and passports, but they are expecting this to be a very very busy renewal year. If you don't want to pay for the expediting with 8 weeks of turnaround time (and again, normally I wouldn't even bother, except for the state department's warnings), just be prepared with birth certificates. Assuming you're sailing a closed-loop US sailing like the Dream and Fantasy do, you'll be totally fine. If you're doing a med or Alaska, I'll be honest, I might consider expediting.

 

[mtil]

We renewed 3 kids and one adult and it took about three weeks for all of them. Sent the kids in late December and had them back by January 20th. We were able to go to our local Clerk of Courts without an appointment to submit the applications. The adult one we could just mail in.

 

[jrab0616]

Can you renew online??

Yes. Meaning you an do the application online and mail it in with your current passport, new picture, any other documents (marriage license, etc) that may be needed and a check or money order for the processing (they tell you the exact amount online). It's a very simple process. I paid for expedited shipping in the middle of Jan and had my passport in my hand in a week and a half from the day I mail my packet in.

 

[bumbershoot]

they are expecting this to be a very very busy renewal year.

They always do expect this and put out press releases about it etc. always.

 

[jhoannam]

Is there a reason why I would need to get both the book and card?

 

[mtil]

Can you renew online??

Adult passports can be renewed by mail without an appointment. Children's passports cannot be renewed by mail, you need to visit a Passport Acceptance Facility. This is from the State Dept website:


You Must Apply in Person If:

• You are applying for your first U.S. passport; or
• You are under age 16; or
• Your previous U.S. passport was issued when you were under age 16; or
• Your previous U.S. passport was lost, stolen, or damaged; or
• Your previous U.S. passport was issued more than 15 years ago; or
• Your name has changed since your U.S. passport was issued and you are unable to legally document your name change.