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Passport Processing Time

fat_joe

By fat_joe,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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fat_joe

fat_joe

Posted
Posted

Does anyone know what the current average wait is for a new passport?

I remember that they were backed up for some time.

 

I am going on the Miracle on August 21.

 

Is it riskier to travel with my birth certificate and drivers license or to apply for a passport at this time?

 

Since I believe I have to mail my birth certificate with my passport application, I will really be in a jam if I apply and do not receive my passport in time.

 

Thanks.

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fat_joe

fat_joe

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We applied for ours a couple weeks ago and received it in 9 days. The lady at the post office said they are processing them much quicker now.

 

Did you go with regular or expedited service?

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cruisertime

cruisertime

Posted
Posted
Does anyone know what the current average wait is for a new passport?

I remember that they were backed up for some time.

 

I am going on the Miracle on August 21.

 

Is it riskier to travel with my birth certificate and drivers license or to apply for a passport at this time?

 

Since I believe I have to mail my birth certificate with my passport application, I will really be in a jam if I apply and do not receive my passport in time.

 

Thanks.

 

Our granddaughter applied and received hers in 9 days, no expediting.

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yuckylucky

yuckylucky

Posted
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The National Passport Agency told me their turn-around time is four weeks standard, two weeks expedited. I have experienced them doing the standardized process quicker though from friends/colleagues.

 

FYI: you should contact your state's health department at some point to order another birth certificate...especially if you're going to apply for a passport at any point. If you can get it from the town in which you born, go for it. It's just good to have...here's my story why:

 

--Applied for our daughter's passport May 27th (traveling July 15th).

--Told it takes about four weeks.

--Checked online for the status on June 30th (four weeks)...no record of the application.

--Called the nat'l agency for a double-check...zippo.

(Me freaking out)

--Was able to rectify having it in time for our trip. However, we needed another certified copy of her birth certificate.

 

Luckily, we live 20 minutes from where she was born and bought three copies in-person the very next day. :D Our post office is picking up all the fees for new photos, the birth certificate, and the expedited fee and it will be mailed to us (with signature required) in three days.

 

I guess it was our turn to be the statistical outlier in this situation! :rolleyes: Someone had to be!

 

So, if you can get another birth certificate, do it. Then you can apply for your passport and not worry if it doesn't arrive in time. :)

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Drynne

Drynne

Posted
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Applied May 9, 2008, received it May 19, 2008...no expediting. I asked the postal worker if I needed expedited service since I was leaving in August for a cruise and she told me that the turn around was very quick now. She was right! :D

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FlashbackAlternatives

FlashbackAlternatives

Posted
Posted
Does anyone know what the current average wait is for a new passport?

I remember that they were backed up for some time.

 

I am going on the Miracle on August 21.

 

Is it riskier to travel with my birth certificate and drivers license or to apply for a passport at this time?

 

Since I believe I have to mail my birth certificate with my passport application, I will really be in a jam if I apply and do not receive my passport in time.

 

Thanks.

 

Just to add, I mailed my wife & I's passport renewal on 6/21 (standard mail, no expedite) and they have already been processed and sent back - we should have them by tomorrow.

 

We are also cruising in August.

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wyo_popcicle

wyo_popcicle

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It's awesome to see how fast the turn around is now - considering it wasn't too long ago that the turn around was months!!

We applied for our passports on Friday June 20 -and received them in the mail on Monday June 30! I was impressed because it was only 5 business days and we didn't pay for them to be expidited!! ;)

Good luck - I think you have plenty of time!

~AISLINN~:p

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RJ7591

RJ7591

Posted
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Sounds like you'll be in good shape but just an FYI...it takes about 30 minutes to get a certified copy of your birth certificate at your local health department. If something were to go wrong you should be able to get a copy very quickly and they aren't that expensive. I think we paid $12 or so for the first one and got a couple more just to keep in safe places for about $2 each. Of course other states might be different from ours but it doesn't sound like it will be an issue anyway.

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piratebear

piratebear

Posted
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I know I'm across the US from you, but we applied on June 21st and we called today and they said that they should be mailed out by Friday or Monday. So it's taken a little longer for us.

 

As for the Passport Card, there is a VERY big delay on them, per the post office. The first set has not been sent out yet and that was a "trial".

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fat_joe

fat_joe

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Thanks for the help everyone.

 

I am going to apply for a passport at the post office on Saturday.

 

Luckily I still live in the town that I was born in and the folks at town hall told me that they issue certified copies of birth certificates on the spot.

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scrappinbrat

scrappinbrat

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We applied for ours today and they said that they have to tell us not to expect it for 4 weeks but they have been coming back in about 2 weeks. The strangest thing is that they send them to Philadelphia first and the payments are removed and deposited and then the paperwork is sent on to New Orleans for processing, at least that is what the guy told us today. It will be interesting to see how quickly we receive them. We have plenty of time, our cruise isn't until December. My only concern is that we applied for our Granddaughter as her guardian and they said that we had all the paperwork that was needed, I just hope that that goes through without any problems. They have a certified copy of the court order for the guardianship along with her birth cert., so hopefully it will all be OK. I don't understand why they keep the birth cert. either I would think as long as they see the certified stamp on it they could just send in a copy. I know it comes back with the passport, but just one more thing forn them to lose.

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