Passport Turnaround time

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, MacMadame said:

I got my photo done at Staples. No appointment needed. 😄

 

We got our previous one at the local CVS drugstore.   This time we thought we would just drop by the PO since we had to mail the package anyway.   

 

[sparks1093]

9 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

If someone is planning serious travel which requires a passport he will not sweat possibly wasting a few $ worth of passport life to insure that he will be able to make the trip.

There is absolutely no sweat involved, at least not in my case. I already have what I need to board the cruise we are taking so in a worse case scenario (i.e. the passport isn't returned in time) my travel will still happen. Now, if I were planning an air trip to Europe it might be different, but there would still be no hurry. 3 months prior to the trip would be more than sufficient and 1 month wouldn't be out of the question for a renewal although that would be too close for my comfort.

[clo]

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

There is absolutely no sweat involved, at least not in my case. I already have what I need to board the cruise we are taking so in a worse case scenario (i.e. the passport isn't returned in time) my travel will still happen. Now, if I were planning an air trip to Europe it might be different, but there would still be no hurry. 3 months prior to the trip would be more than sufficient and 1 month wouldn't be out of the question for a renewal although that would be too close for my comfort.

Color me confused. You're going on a cruise and you don't necessarily need your passport? What am I not understanding please?

[ldubs]

23 minutes ago, clo said:

Color me confused. You're going on a cruise and you don't necessarily need your passport? What am I not understanding please?

 

A closed loop cruise out of a US port can be done with an ID and birth certificate.   

[sparks1093]

27 minutes ago, clo said:

Color me confused. You're going on a cruise and you don't necessarily need your passport? What am I not understanding please?

As stated by @ldubs it's a closed loop cruise. Since I have an EDL issued by the state of Vermont (yes, an EDL, not a REAL ID compliant license) that is all I need for the cruise. Since that's the only travel we have scheduled for the foreseeable future I have no qualms at all allowing it to expire and waiting to renew until we need them to travel.

[mnocket]

For those of you renewing your passports, don't make my mistake and forget to check the box to get the bigger passport with more pages.

[cellfree]

On 5/21/2024 at 12:40 AM, westerdam said:

Well, nothing in today's post.  Hopefully this week! There are all these Memorial Day sales coming up or already have started.  But I can't book anything without the new passport number. I will be sure to let you know when it does arrive! 😁

Just curious, new Passport arrived yet? Hopefully you are busy booking Memorial Day sales!

[westerdam]

9 hours ago, cellfree said:

Just curious, new Passport arrived yet? Hopefully you are busy booking Memorial Day sales!

Uggggggg......no.....🤬😭 Nothing arrived in today's post. But there is still Friday and Saturday's post before the holiday. I am thinking about just going ahead and booking things under my old passport and I hen updating all the reservations once the new one does arrive.  I just can not risk booking anything for June.  So maybe a delayed birthday trip in early July instead. Stay tuned.....😁😂

[navybankerteacher]

18 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

As stated by @ldubs it's a closed loop cruise. Since I have an EDL issued by the state of Vermont (yes, an EDL, not a REAL ID compliant license) that is all I need for the cruise. Since that's the only travel we have scheduled for the foreseeable future I have no qualms at all allowing it to expire and waiting to renew until we need them to travel.

Makes sense - as long as you KNOW you will not need it.   A lot of us like the idea of being able to grab spur of the moment opportunities.   I have a number of relatives living in UK - which I am virtually certain to visit at least once every other year - often on short notice.  I also occasionally book a cruise on short notice - which may require a passport.  Keeping a valid passport - with reasonable life left on it - is a must.

[sparks1093]

18 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Makes sense - as long as you KNOW you will not need it.   A lot of us like the idea of being able to grab spur of the moment opportunities.   I have a number of relatives living in UK - which I am virtually certain to visit at least once every other year - often on short notice.  I also occasionally book a cruise on short notice - which may require a passport.  Keeping a valid passport - with reasonable life left on it - is a must.

Exactly. If you have a need to have a valid passport available that's certainly a consideration. We can't do spur of the moment trips right now. Our trips are planned out a year or more in advance. (Heck, even a trip up to Montreal is planned out at least a month beforehand, but then we can use our EDLs for that trip.) So waiting to renew isn't a big deal for us. As I often say, everyone's travel needs are different. 🙂 

[Jim_Iain]

As we all recall last year Passports were taking an extremely long time to renew.    Mine still has a year before expiration but I ran out of pages.

 

Since it will be awhile before my next Celebrity Cruise, we decided to send in our renewals using routine process.   6-8 Weeks

 

We mailed ours in on May 15 and I just got a status update that my Passport had been approved and 2 hours later a Priority Mail tracking number was provided.    Less than 2 weeks from receipt.

 

Really incredible when the published processing time is:

 

[keesar]

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

As we all recall last year Passports were taking an extremely long time to renew.    Mine still has a year before expiration but I ran out of pages.

 

Since it will be awhile before my next Celebrity Cruise, we decided to send in our renewals using routine process.   6-8 Weeks

 

We mailed ours in on May 15 and I just got a status update that my Passport had been approved and 2 hours later a Priority Mail tracking number was provided.    Less than 2 weeks from receipt.

 

Really incredible when the published processing time is:

 

I had renewed mine last year and had expected a major delay.  It also only took 2 weeks via the Routine mode.  I was very surprised.

[Jim_Iain]

7 hours ago, keesar said:

I had renewed mine last year and had expected a major delay.  It also only took 2 weeks via the Routine mode.  I was very surprised.

 

I was wondering if having Global Entry helps speed it through since we have been so thoroughly vetted.

[pedirn]

Not sure about Global Entry.   Our daughter, grandson, and daughter's boyfriend recently sent for their passports (none have Global Entry ). Two renewals and one new.   They all received them in 3-1/2 weeks from time of mailing.   Ours have never been that fast.  These are for cruise in September and they mailed them early after reading of issues others were having.

[wrk2cruise]

We only had a couple of 8-10 week breaks in our travel schedule so sent ours for renewal in April.  We expedited everything just to make sure we had no issues.  We mailed on Friday and had notification that it had been processed the following Friday and received express mail on Monday so about 10 days.  Were very pleased.

[Luvcrusn]

On a related note, I got an email stating that our Global Entry was expiring soon and because the renewals were so backlogged they would honor cards for 6 months after the expiration date. I went online that afternoon (a Friday) and filled out the renewal forms, paid, and was prepared to wait. The next day I received an email that there was a change in status and went onto the website to see that the renewal was approved and received the new cards on Tuesday!

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

On a related note, I got an email stating that our Global Entry was expiring soon and because the renewals were so backlogged they would honor cards for 6 months after the expiration date. I went online that afternoon (a Friday) and filled out the renewal forms, paid, and was prepared to wait. The next day I received an email that there was a change in status and went onto the website to see that the renewal was approved and received the new cards on Tuesday!

We have had similar on Global Entry.  I believe the delay is only for those that required a secondary face to face.  

 

If I recall it is pretty easy to update your passport number when you get a new one.

[Jim_Iain]

5 hours ago, pedirn said:

Not sure about Global Entry.   Our daughter, grandson, and daughter's boyfriend recently sent for their passports (none have Global Entry ). Two renewals and one new.   They all received them in 3-1/2 weeks from time of mailing.   Ours have never been that fast.  These are for cruise in September and they mailed them early after reading of issues others were having.

Good to hear.     Seems like the big backlogs of last year have passed.  

 

Iain's is still showing as processing.     I mailed them the same day but his was received into their system 2 days after mine. 

[Elaine5715]

On 5/17/2024 at 9:04 AM, navybankerteacher said:

Has anyone else recently experienced surprisingly improved turnaround time on Government processing passport  and Global Entry renewals?  We just got our renewed Global Entry cards less than 10 days after submitting application. Having been advised that use of our expiring cards would be extended by a year to allow for anticipated processing delays, we were happily surprised. 

Yes, my GE was renewed in less than 2 weeks

[Elaine5715]

On 5/21/2024 at 1:08 PM, sparks1093 said:

Yes and I'm also aware that it's wasted time since the US doesn't apply unused time to the new passport. It's not a huge deal but renewing it too early sticks in my craw. There's no stress at all, just something that needs to be done.

Last time, I renewed about in August for a passport expiring Dec 6, the new passport start date was Dec 7.

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Last time, I renewed about in August for a passport expiring Dec 6, the new passport start date was Dec 7.

Of course you lost the use of the old one for about 4 months — which seems to be the sort of loss some posters are bothered by.

[Elaine5715]

35 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course you lost the use of the old one for about 4 months — which seems to be the sort of loss some posters are bothered by.

No trips, no loss

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course you lost the use of the old one for about 4 months — which seems to be the sort of loss some posters are bothered by.

Actually, I believe a commentor has claimed that your renewed passport is dated upon issue and not when your prior passport expired thus "lost time"

[sparks1093]

10 hours ago, Elaine5715 said:

Last time, I renewed about in August for a passport expiring Dec 6, the new passport start date was Dec 7.

Interesting. Thank you.

[sparks1093]

7 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course you lost the use of the old one for about 4 months — which seems to be the sort of loss some posters are bothered by.

Yes, it does bother me. But so what? That's my issue. If I had a bona fide need to renew 4 months early then it wouldn't bother me. What would bother me is renewing it 4 months early just to renew it early.