what is the current passport turn-around time by mail

My daughter just renewed her passport today at the post office. She was under 16 when her passport was first issued, and she is now over 16, so they treated it like a new application. She had to appear in person, fill out the appropriate forms, and they attached her expired passport. They said 4-6 weeks (we don't have a trip currently booked, and wouldn't be traveling before August)

I just wanted to ask those of you who applied for either new passports or renewals recently: How long did it take?

My daughter just renewed her passport today at the post office. She was under 16 when her passport was first issued, and she is now over 16, so they treated it like a new application. She had to appear in person, fill out the appropriate forms, and they attached her expired passport. They said 4-6 weeks (we don't have a trip currently booked, and wouldn't be traveling before August)

 

I just wanted to ask those of you who applied for either new passports or renewals recently: How long did it take?

I applied for mine on May 15, according to the website it is "processing" and expected time is 4-6 weeks for a new one. I still have not received email notification of the status. Since I am sailing a closed loop Alaska trip - I went ahead and ordered and extra birth certificate. Hopefully I get one of them by July 3rd!!!

On the web site they tell you the wait time ..

I just did mine and i got mine back in 34 days

"As of (Monday June 2, 2014), we are processing routine applications in approximately 4-6 weeks from the time of application." http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/processing-times.html

yes, I read all that on the website. I was just wondering what people here have experienced in "real life".

I often see threads on CC where people comment that they applied on X date, and received their passport on Y date. So, I was hoping some people would share their actual experience.

If you go to first time cruisers there is an ongoing thread about passport turnaround that started a couple of years ago - there are recent posts with real life stories - just go to the last couple of pages

I applied for mine on April 3 and got it on the mail on May 7, so a little over a month. This was my first time getting a passport.

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"As of (Monday June 2, 2014), we are processing routine applications in approximately 4-6 weeks from the time of application." http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/processing-times.html

meh - mine is going to be hit or miss whether I get it in time to sail. At least I'll have BC....I'm not paying for expedited since its not a requirement.

I got mine in 17 days

if you go to the State Dept site you can sign up for e-mail notifications ....

then they'll tell you when it was mailed back

By USPS Priority btw ... they do this now for no extra cost so they can track . . .

I just got mine...it took 14 weeks...give or take

They rejected my picture...taken by the post office

they rejected my birth cert...issued to my parents from the hospital with the raised seal/stamp

It was a pretty frustrating ordeal....it was more irritating that the rejection reasons seemed to be reasons the Post Office should've identified before submitting.

I would imagine to renew a passport, even though it's being treated as a new one due to age, would go through a little more quickly if only for the fact they have verified her as a legal American

thank you. I'll check out the new cruisers forum.

thank you. I'll check out the new cruisers forum.

since mine is already processing - I'll be posting on there when I get it so we can compare processing times.

My daughter just renewed her passport today at the post office. She was under 16 when her passport was first issued, and she is now over 16, so they treated it like a new application. She had to appear in person, fill out the appropriate forms, and they attached her expired passport. They said 4-6 weeks (we don't have a trip currently booked, and wouldn't be traveling before August)

 

I just wanted to ask those of you who applied for either new passports or renewals recently: How long did it take?

We just expedited ours and had it back in less than one week which was amazing.

A friend of ours renewed their passports and didn't expedite them and it took about 24 days for them to get it back.

Keith

yes, I read all that on the website. I was just wondering what people here have experienced in "real life".

 

I often see threads on CC where people comment that they applied on X date, and received their passport on Y date. So, I was hoping some people would share their actual experience.

Timing is dependent on many variables such as

• This is now peak season for passport processing
  
• Though every application initially gets sent to the same address it can than be farmed out to one of several passport processing centers throughout the USA.
  
• Processing time at the various centers can vary due to volume
  
• If any problems arise with the information submitted.
  

Due to this being peak season , unless you paid for it to be expedited the information posted on the passport agency website is more likely the best information at this time.

Applied for renewed passports in February 2014. When I went to the County Clerk's office I received the standard four to six weeks answer to my question. The new passports arrived in three weeks. My son's passport was processed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and my wife and my passport were processed in Charleston, South Carolina. The three expired passports were returned to me a week later.

We applied for our passports last year. We went to our local post office to apply. Had to make an appointment which took three weeks to get. After appointment we received our passports in less then a month.

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In Australia it is 2 weeks

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My son just renewed his. He was 14 when he got his first one. It expired, and he lost it. He is now 20. He filed for a new passport at the USPS. Since he lost his old one and it was a minor passport, he did not need to file a lost passport form. They took new pictures, he filed the application and he got his new passport back in 13 days(May 29th). No priority or special handling.

It all depends on where the applications are sent. There are different passport branches around the country. If you are lucky enough to have yours sent to a branch that is not backlogged then it will be quick. Normal time is 3 weeks. They say 4-6 so they don't get bombarded with inquiries after a a couple of weeks.

Is there a time difference between new applications and renewals?

I renewed by mail. Mailed may 1, I got the new passport in the mail yesterday, June 4.

I took my son in person on May 7. We got his, his old passport and birth certificate on May 21.

Much faster process in person at the post office as opposed to the mail but still in good time. 3-4weeks either way.

We did not do anything expedited.

Do you know if your friends' and your passports processed through the same Passport Processing Center?

Is there a time difference between new applications and renewals?

There can be ...

A normal renewal can be done completely by mail, no need to visit the post office or other processing site. All by mail renewals get sent to the same place, Phili. My mail renewal took 17 days.

A new application requires a visit to a place that can accept new applications, and then the application gets sent on to a regional processing center. It is a different process and can take longer .... just getting an appointment can be an issue. And if a piece of your package doesn't pass muster ... whoops you go back to start.

In general if you don't have your old passport, you can't renew ... you get to start over.

One who has had a 'child' passport that is expiring, but now qualifies for a regular/adult ... that's not a renewal either, they get to start over as a new application. And that means it can not be done by mail.

All explained at http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/renew.html

There can be ...

 

A normal renewal can be done completely by mail, no need to visit the post office or other processing site. All by mail renewals get sent to the same place, Phili. My mail renewal took 17 days.

 

A new application requires a visit to a place that can accept new applications, and then the application gets sent on to a regional processing center. It is a different process and can take longer .... just getting an appointment can be an issue. And if a piece of your package doesn't pass muster ... whoops you go back to start.

 

In general if you don't have your old passport, you can't renew ... you get to start over.

 

One who has had a 'child' passport that is expiring, but now qualifies for a regular/adult ... that's not a renewal either, they get to start over as a new application. And that means it can not be done by mail.

 

All explained at http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/renew.html

If something is wrong with the application, it doesn't get sent back to the start immediately. My application got rejected for 2 things and I was told the app would be held for XX days for me to correct or I would have to start over.

They sent a letter explaining why it was rejected and how long I had to send in the correct info/item. They also included a pre-addressed envelope...no postage though...lol.

Mine got rejected for my photo...post office took it...don't remember how long I had to correct. It also got rejected for my birth cert.....they gave me 60 days to submit the correct one and had websites to where I could get the one they wanted.....I'm sure it's a big money making scheme....if I didn't mail in the right stuff in the 60 day window, then I would have to start over.

Ours was right at three weeks.