How do you know a passport has been expedited?

Question

I sent my passport for renewal in the beginning of April, but did not expedite. It was taking 8-10 weeks, and my trip was 11 weeks away (June 20) so I thought I was safe. I leave in 13 days and still do not have my passport back.

I called the 877 # and finally spoke with a person at the NPIC. He took my information and said he would put in a request to expedite my passport. He then told me to call back Monday and check on it. He also told me he was not going to charge for it, since my application for renewal had been in the system for so long. He also did not ask if I wanted it sent overnight or anything (there are fees for all of this).

Has this happened to anyone else? Did you get the passport in time? How do I know if my passport is really getting expedited? If I find that it isn't when I call Monday, should I then make an appointment at the regional passport center? Can they help me even though I won't have my paperwork? I can't seem to get answers from the person at NPIC.

Answer 1

ya...call the hotline and try to ask for new application form.

Answer 2

Delays are inevitable in passport applications and the reasons are not usually given.  Maybe, they need grease money to expedite your passport.

Answer 3

You will just have to take the word of the person you spoke to at face value. I am sure he/she would not have said that to you if they did not really expedite your application. Just wait for Monday and see what happens. Let us hope for the best and worry later. Have a great weekend instead.**

Answer 4

Do not trust the 877#.  The same thing happened to me.  I am off to Italy in three days and my passport just arrived on wednesday making it 11 weeks when they told me it would take 8-10 weeks.  I also called and they said they would send an urgent e-mail to expedite my passport.  guess what, the e-mail never reached them...  The process should take only one day, but they are just so overwhelmed right now.

SOLUTION:  Call the office of your congressman.  They will have someone in the office who can handle this situation.  I called on monday, got a call back within the hour I called and was told they hadn't even started my passport!!  So, the gentleman from my congressman's office took care of things and even had them overnight my passport w/o charge.  So, I called on monday and got my passport on wednesday!!   Trust me, if you call the office of your congressman in your district, things will go along a lot faster!  Good luck and have fun on your trip!