Are they not affected by the general delays in processing passports as everyone and their mother gets them to fly to Canada now?
I just renewed mine last month. I paid $60 extra for the State Dept.'s own expediting service, and got the new passport in something like eight days.
3: They are, and I didn't actually get mine in time. They're quicker than just going through the regular process, but you can't trust the wait times they give on the website.
I like how this clear plan to flee the country gets framed as "boring." Tricky, that. I guess we'll only know that you've gone when we wake up and Unfogged has switched to GMT.
Today's isn't nearly as boring as the "How do I do my TPS reports?" bleg.
I'm just surprised he didn't link AWB's theory of the boring.
Where ya going? Or is this for a friend?
I used a place called Travisa, on Sutter in downtown SF. Though the process didn't necessarily inspire confidence (a very temporary-looking office, with a sort of Boiler Room atmosphere, and no explicit promises made as to delivery time) they got me my passport in I think 48 hours. I don't know reputable but it worked for me.
It felt sort of dirty and inegalitarian paying extra money to get to the front of the line, but when it's a trip to Europe at stake it's suddenly rather hard to stay a Marxist.
If you are leaving in two weeks or less, you can use the passport office on Hawthorne. Josh did that and got it pretty much right away.
I can't imagine they could get you the passport faster than just paying for the expedited service from the passport office. My wife just did that and get hers back in 7 or 8 days.
There are ways to get a passport faster than the expedited service. I know people who've done it through an embassy in less than 24 hours.
13: You can get a passport faster at an Embassy than in the US, but those are emergency passports that are usually limited to 1 year validity or less.
Domestically, paying the Dep't expedite fee at the moment is just as good as anything else -- now. If its a renewal. If its a first time passport, well... it may take some time.
Next bleg: how do I hide all these kruggerands in the lining of my suitcase?
+Magpie. You can get a passport same day (2--4 hours) in the US. I got my first passport that way. Embassies aren't any faster.
Diplodocus, as of when? I think Teo did this a few months ago, and the State Department website says it's still doable. (You have to live in, or be able to get to, one of the regional passport agencies to get the expedited passport, though.)
My expedited passport request was delayed by the SF office when they told me I had to write a letter explaining why my previous passport was mutilated.
19: From what I understand, expedites are only happening in the most extreme cases at the moment (death of a relative, serious illness, etc.) The system is seriously, seriously backed up and the expedites aren't full validity, just 1 year books. But folks should still check; maybe some field offices are doing expedites for non-emergencies. It's a case by case thing.
I got an emergency passport at a US embassy abroad in about an hour and a half. During that hour and a half, however, I was grilled about American pop culture, with questions ranging from my hometown broadcasts, to Friends, to my peanut butter preferences. Did I mention that I had no valid ID with me?
Call your Senator. That is the best way to get a fast passport. Call your Senator's office. Keep calling your Senator.
Though 23 does not work if you are one of DC's 500,000 residents. More citizens than Wyoming, no Senators at all. Yes, it's taxation without representation, why do you ask?
On the other hand, there is a passport agency downtown.