Passport Renewal - Quick!

There are a couple of major differences between US and Canadian passport photo requirements. First, in Canada the photo must be taken by a commercial photographer. Very annoying for those of us who are excellent photographers but not commercial. Still, it probably leads to a significant reduction in the number of rejected applications.

The second is the issue of facial expression. The Canadian requirement (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/passport/apply/photos.asp) is:

Taken with a neutral facial expression (eyes open and clearly visible, mouth closed, no smiling).

The US requirement (http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/photos/photos.html) is a little bit more flexible:

Taken with a neutral facial expression (preferred) or a natural smile, and with both eyes open

So Americans can smile but we Canadians aren't allowed to. :(

We went to AAA because we have a membership. They charged us $10 each. My photo was so bad I didn't want to buy it but did just to get out of there. The woman taking it kept saying she couldn't get a shot with my eyes open, insisted I take off my glasses, and overexposed the photo. DH kept saying it's only a passport photo, no one cares.

I went to the FedEx store, and they only had to take one photo. My glasses were on, my eyes were open, and the color was correct! Luckily I don't have to go back for another 10 years <g>.

My old passport arrived in Philadelphia on July 9th, I received my new one army home today - July 23rd.

 

I did pay for expedited service to be on the safe side.

Mailed ours to Philadelphia from Oklahoma City and got our new passports today - 4 weeks exactly and we did not use expedited service.

I plan on taking this with me when I go for the next renewal photo in the US:

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/photos/photos.html

Your passport photo must be:

In color

Printed on matte or glossy photo quality paper

2 x 2 inches (51 x 51 mm) in size

Sized such that the head is between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches (between 25 and 35 mm) from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head. View the Photo Composition Template for more size requirement details.

Taken within the last 6 months to reflect your current appearance

Taken in front of a plain white or off-white background

Taken in full-face view directly facing the camera

Taken with a neutral facial expression (preferred) or a natural smile, and with both eyes open

Having had a real problem with the Passport Agency, I would recommend that you renew your passport at least 2-3 months in advance.

The physical process is really convoluted. The addresses for both regular and expedited service are both Philadelphia, but apparently nothing happens in Philadelphia. The applications are sent from there via a "secure service" - that takes a week - to an office in Virginia, where it appears your check is cashed. If all is in order, the application is then sent - again via a "secure service" to Portsmouth, NH, where the actual work takes place.

I got an eMail and a letter from the Virginia stop that my photo had been received "damaged" and needed to be replaced. This time, they wanted the replacement photo sent to Virginia, which I did the same day. Three weeks later, nothing. This was six weeks after my initial application.

Calling their information line is worthless. You get a bureaucrat who talks in circles and you get nowhere. At least I found out that my application and new photo had finally been sent to Portsmouth but not received after a week.

With a week left to travel, I took all the paperwork to the Passport Agency office in Stamford, CT, where I met the most helpful gentlemen who just shook his head about the problem - he said it happens all the time - and said he would fix. He eMailed Portsmouth, and a response in a few minutes said that they had located my application. He did some magic, and assured me that since I had paid for expedited return shipping I would have the passport at my home the next day - which I did.

He said I would receive my original application back sometime in the mail. I did sometime later - and with it was the original and replacement photos - both in excellent condition!

Moral of the story - renew EARLY - and don't waste your time on the phone - get to the nearest Passport Agency office.

DH's & my new Passport Books came Priority Mail today in two separate envelopes, exactly 4 weeks after we mailed them.. The new passports are beautiful! Each Visa page has an image of an important time in U.S. history..:):)

The Passport cards will be mailed to us separately & the old passports will also be returned separately. That's a total of six mailings for us! What a complete waste of our taxpayer $$$..:(

Such a complex procedure bogged down in red tape & bureaucracy..

Having had a real problem with the Passport Agency, I would recommend that you renew your passport at least 2-3 months in advance.

 

The physical process is really convoluted. The addresses for both regular and expedited service are both Philadelphia, but apparently nothing happens in Philadelphia. The applications are sent from there via a "secure service" - that takes a week - to an office in Virginia, where it appears your check is cashed. If all is in order, the application is then sent - again via a "secure service" to Portsmouth, NH, where the actual work takes place.

 

I got an eMail and a letter from the Virginia stop that my photo had been received "damaged" and needed to be replaced. This time, they wanted the replacement photo sent to Virginia, which I did the same day. Three weeks later, nothing. This was six weeks after my initial application.

 

Calling their information line is worthless. You get a bureaucrat who talks in circles and you get nowhere. At least I found out that my application and new photo had finally been sent to Portsmouth but not received after a week.

 

With a week left to travel, I took all the paperwork to the Passport Agency office in Stamford, CT, where I met the most helpful gentlemen who just shook his head about the problem - he said it happens all the time - and said he would fix. He eMailed Portsmouth, and a response in a few minutes said that they had located my application. He did some magic, and assured me that since I had paid for expedited return shipping I would have the passport at my home the next day - which I did.

 

He said I would receive my original application back sometime in the mail. I did sometime later - and with it was the original and replacement photos - both in excellent condition!

 

Moral of the story - renew EARLY - and don't waste your time on the phone - get to the nearest Passport Agency office.

As I said earlier, mine took about 7 weeks. But I think part of the slowness was that people kept sending in passports w/ expedited processing that would be placed in front of mine (rightly so). Around the six week mark, they offered to let me spend the expedited fee to speed things up.

AAA members can have passport photos taken as a benefit of membership at least in California and Arizona so I assume throughout the US.

My AAA office here in PA charges $5.00 for passport photos.

My renewal was received in Philadelphia on July 31.

Today, August 31, I received my new passport. I used routine service.

Express mailed a renewal passport book application to Phila. on Aug 12. Regular processing, not expedited. Passport received today by express mail, Sept. 2. A total of 3 weeks, door-to-door.

Express mailed a renewal passport book application to Phila. on Aug 12. Regular processing, not expedited. Passport received today by express mail, Sept. 2. A total of 3 weeks, door-to-door.

Summer rush is over. If you aren't close on time -- seems things go so smoothly. :D

 

The Passport cards will be mailed to us separately & the old passports will also be returned separately. That's a total of six mailings for us! What a complete waste of our taxpayer $$$..

Likely the cost was buried in your renewal fees. ;)

Just got back from our DMV to have my drivers license corrected. The original renewal trip was a few weeks ago. California is going with more "secure licenses" that are supposed to be more "compliant with security regs." Yep.

So.... Today's trip was to get my name fixed.

When my new license arrived, DMV had given me a new name :eek: for my birthday!

(Of course the new name did not match my SS card, nor my passport. They supposedly won't issue a DL that does not match the SS exactly.... (but somehow they did when they renamed me.)).

Anyway, both trips there they were allowing (even encouraging) a smile.

(And now I've got my name back).:) that's a good thing- cuz I'm rather attached to it.

Yep those names are attached but they can get complicated. New credit card for hubby and a fraud alert when we tried to activate. No 'JR" on the new credit card but "Jr" on the account. Had to change DL last time because they also tried to drop JR. And of course the letters to Mr. JR are always a hoot. A lawyer advised us that the Jr could not be dropped without legal paperwork -- even though "Senior" has been dead for over 50 years.

Be aware that when buying airline tickets -- the name must match exactly including JR and the spelling must match exactly to the passport and DL. Do not let them (3rd party sellers who won't change the name even when it is their fault) tell you it will be OK. Nope it won't -- they will and have turned people away.

Just to give a perspective from Sweden, we went to the police on Tuesday at 2.30 to have our passports and national identity cards renewed at a cost of 90 $US (37$ for passport, 43$ for ID). Received a text message on Thursday morning that the IDs were ready for pickup and on Friday morning that the passports were ready. We picked them up at lunch on Friday. Less than 48 hours for an ID and 72 hours for a passport.

Only disadvantage is that you have to go in person both to apply and pick-up but it is at least secure.

//A

I applied for a replacement for my lost passport at the local courthouse on August 14. I received the new passport in the mail yesterday, September 4. A turnaround of just 3 weeks -- good job, State Department!

Just to give a perspective from Sweden, we went to the police on Tuesday at 2.30 to have our passports and national identity cards renewed at a cost of 90 $US (37$ for passport, 43$ for ID). Received a text message on Thursday morning that the IDs were ready for pickup and on Friday morning that the passports were ready. We picked them up at lunch on Friday. Less than 48 hours for an ID and 72 hours for a passport.

 

Only disadvantage is that you have to go in person both to apply and pick-up but it is at least secure.

 

//A

Typically how far does one have to travel to apply for and pick up passports? Does each city have facilities? (Like the local police station?)

DH's & my new Passport Books came Priority Mail today in two separate envelopes, exactly 4 weeks after we mailed them.. The new passports are beautiful! Each Visa page has an image of an important time in U.S. history..:):)

 

The Passport cards will be mailed to us separately & the old passports will also be returned separately. That's a total of six mailings for us! What a complete waste of our taxpayer $$$..:(

 

Such a complex procedure bogged down in red tape & bureaucracy..

Have you received your old passports yet? If yes, how long after you received your new passports did the old ones arrive? I received my new passport on 8/31 (3 weeks to the day of receipt) but have yet to receive my old one.

Typically how far does one have to travel to apply for and pick up passports? Does each city have facilities? (Like the local police station?)

Yes, one station in every city with a larger population.

If anyone is ever in need of VERY fast service (like less than a week) you can go in person to a regional US passport office (I believe there are only 6 or 7 in the country) although if they think they have time to mail it they will just mail in your application. I thought I had checked my passport last year and went to check-in the Saturday before we were to leave for FL and realized my passport had expired in July. Called immediately and the nearest passport office was in Minneapolis (about 3 1/2 hrs from where I live). The next opening was on Tuesday. I had to take a day off work of course and I was there prior to my appointment time. To even check-in they insist you have all forms filled out, your expired passport (if available) and your pictures. I also had to bring proof of foreign travel in less than a week. When I spoke to the rep he was very kind. Noticed I had come quite a distance and said we can either mail it to you or you can wait till 3:30 this afternoon when we could have it ready for pickup. I of course chose pickup and had my passport later that day. VERY stressful as we actually were getting married while in St. Thomas so I was so lucky it all worked out. And that my brand new employer was understanding of my urgent need for a day off.

Just thought we would add our experience to this thread. We mailed our Passport application 3 weeks ago today and our passports arrived in today's mail. :) We did not pay for expedited service.

I think the passport offices are doing a great job keeping ahead of the renewal curve.