How long to get a passport?

[memecakes]

Ok I know I'm bad but my hubby and I have not been able to get our act together and go get our passports yet. I keep "telling" him that we need to get it done and he agrees but it never gets done! Our cruise is on Oct 22. Just how long does it take to get a passport? Are we in trouble?

 

Memecakes

[Leo Jay]

http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/processing/processing_1740.html

 

You'll be fine if you get expedited service, but do it NOW.

[Mekamax]

Went to supermarket and got photos done. Went by county clerk's office for the applications - same as the ones I printed off the net. They wanted $97 per person to take care of it or I could send it in with a $67 check. I mailed it certified on July 3. We got them back 5-6 weeks later. You need to do it now if you are going to because the longer you wait the more others are going to realise the new regulations start soon and there will be more sent in. :) Good luck - it was a pain but I'm glad we got them! :D Debbie

[wrp96]

They are saying 6 - 8 weeks to get a passport at the moment. You need to do expedited service to make sure you get it before Oct. 22nd. Make sure to take your marriage certificate with you along with your birth certificates.

[LHT28]

Ok I know I'm bad but my hubby and I have not been able to get our act together and go get our passports yet. I keep "telling" him that we need to get it done and he agrees but it never gets done! Our cruise is on Oct 22. Just how long does it take to get a passport? Are we in trouble?

 

Memecakes

Depends on where you are going you may not need one.

But if you do ...it may mean the difference of losing all your money and the cruise.:eek:

Might be worthwhile to get your skates on!

[jcanino]

Just how long does it take to get a passport? Are we in trouble?

 

My son's recently came back in just over 4 weeks.

[madaamt]

Dh And I Applied For Our Passport On July 28th And Received Them August 21st. So It Wasn't Long At All.

[Leo Jay]

As far as processing time, pay no mind to whether or not so and so happened to get theirs in 5 weeks -- the guideline is 6-8 weeks so count on that, and just pay the extra for expedited service if need be. You don't want to be a week out, still waiting, and saying "I shoulda..." ;)

[memecakes]

Do you have to have a passport? Could we use our birth certificates if they don't get here for some reason? We only had those last time and we had no problems. That was three years ago though. We are going on the Conquest out of Galvaston on Oct. 22. I'll sent for the passports asap but now I worry.....I'll be kicking myself untill they get here.

 

Memecakes

[RDSLS]

We applied on August 19th at the US Postal office and were told the latest answer they were to give to customers was "At least 8 weeks, but could be as little at 6".

 

Also - If you are a AAA auto club member (Plus) you get free photos.

[RDSLS]

Do you have to have a passport? Could we use our birth certificates if they don't get here for some reason? We only had those last time and we had no problems. That was three years ago though. We are going on the Conquest out of Galvaston on Oct. 22. I'll sent for the passports asap but now I worry.....I'll be kicking myself untill they get here.

 

Memecakes

 

Yes, a certified or original birth certificate will work. Have fun!

[TheWaywardTraveler]

I sent in the paperwork on July 20th - expedited - and received it July 27th. This was a new passport - not a renewal.

[breenw]

The Wayward Traveler - you were lucky!

 

We applied back in April to beat the rush towards the end of this year. Well, 7 weeks later - still no passport. We found out that the passport division is so busy that they "contract out" some of the processing. If your application happens to go to one of these agencies (ours did), they are much slower. We ended up getting a letter saying we needed to provide 5 more pieces of identification before they would process us. Don't know why - we were both born in Indianapolis and still live there, so there was nothing that would have been a "red flag" to hold up our processing. We telephoned and found out this particular contractor just does this as a "routine". We were really upset as we were going on a cruise at the end of that week and even though we didn't need our passports - they had our original birth certificates because we had to supply that with our passport application.

 

Needless to say, much frustration, faxing, and phone calls later - we got our passports overnighted to us the next day!

 

So - a word of caution - DO NOT WAIT to send in your application. If you are lucky and it comes back in a short period of time - well that's great. If not, be prepared for it to take several weeks, especially as it gets closer to the December 2006 date.

[Leo Jay]

Yes, a certified or original birth certificate will work. Have fun!

 

Just to emphasize: CERTIFIED or ORIGINAL.

 

Not a really good photocopy. Not a digital scan. Not a copy notarized by your local Notary Public.

 

A certified or original document issued by the birth State.

 

Any questions? :D

[vjblk]

If I am reading you correctly it sounds like you might still try for the passport but doesn't the birth certificate go with the paperwork to the passport agency? You won't have your original birth certificate to take with you if the passport doesn't arrive in time.

[TheWaywardTraveler]

At least in NY State, if you go to the city clerk/town clerk of your place of birth, prove who you are, and fill out their paper work, for $10 each you can get as many official copies (with the raised seal) as you want to pay for. I got two copies, put one in the safe deposit box and sent the other one to Boston with my application - since my "original" original is still in the "safe" place I put it.

I was amazed that it came so fast - I kept looking on the website to see how the process was going, and it never appeared as being processed until 5 days after I got it!

[10X]

I just received an e-mail yesterday from my sister about the passports for her and her husband for our upcoming cruise together. They submitted the paperwork at the local post office on 8/11/06 and received their passports on 8/25/06. I couldn't believe it was done so fast.

[LimeNoSalt]

Are you close to Philadelphia?

If so....you can go there with your information and pay extra and get it in one day.

You can find all the info on what you need and where to go on the us passport web sight.

[SmooCruise]

When we applied at out post office back in July for our passports we were told to expect a full 8 weeks. This had me nervous as this put our passports here a week before our cruise. I had trouble getting my birth certificate (sealed records) and this was the soonest we could apply for our passport. BUT.....the good news is that our passports came in a little over 4 weeks. You can check the status of your passport online at http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/status/status_2567.html

But it doesn't really give you much information until they are actually ready to sent out your passport.

15 more days!!!!

[RDSLS]

When we applied at out post office back in July for our passports we were told to expect a full 8 weeks. This had me nervous as this put our passports here a week before our cruise. I had trouble getting my birth certificate (sealed records) and this was the soonest we could apply for our passport. BUT.....the good news is that our passports came in a little over 4 weeks. You can check the status of your passport online at http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/status/status_2567.html

But it doesn't really give you much information until they are actually ready to sent out your passport.

15 more days!!!!

 

Well the link was of some help. They at least give you an "expected" date of when your passport will arive. Thanks for the link!

[SmooCruise]

You're welcome! Ours came about a week before the expected date listed. I just kept checking it every day. Finally one day it changed and had the expected time of arrival. I was so excited! It came a day earlier than the day they had listed. Good luck and Happy Cruising!

[TITISSA]

I just applied for my daughter's passport yesterday and it will take 6 weeks.

[Jim Gallup]

If you walk into a US Passport Office with:

1. Completed forms

2. Required documents

3. An international airline ticket or cruise ticket for a trip in a few days

4. Photos

5. Cash

 

You can get a new expedited passport within 24 hours.

 

 

 

If you walk into a US Passport Office with:

1. Completed forms

2. Expired or soon to be expired passport

3. Photos

4. Cash

 

You can get an expedited renewal passport in a few hours. I did it in Honolulu just recently.

[mjt2890]

mine took 3 weeks

[vmom]

When we applied for our passports we were told 6 to 8 weeks. Well they arrived today...in just 3 1/2 weeks.

 

The later in the year it gets, the longer the wait will likely get due to the change in passport regulations.