passport renewal agencies

[Hagbard Celine 10,924]

let mine lapse, next trip is 8 weeks away so i have time for a less-expensive option, do not want to trust passport to the bowels of the government, also want to renew wife's at the same time, so if there is a "combined processing of multiple renewals" product/service looking for that too.....

[phdhorn 6,224]

I renewed mine, and my wife renewed hers, on separate occasions, we didn't even use expedited, and they always got to us within 3 weeks.  I remember it was that way as well 10 years ago when we did it then. Of course, I know you probably don't feel like risking it, but I don't think there will be an issue. If so, you can expedite it just to be safe for a little more money.

Walmart does passport photos for 8 bucks, and UT has a really good passport office over west of Campus. I use that to renew my son's, and that took two and a half weeks.

[mbtex 683]

Just did mine took about 2 weeks

[Gil Bang 26,028]

OP doesn’t trust the government to handle an official government document.

[Bat Guano 359]

1 minute ago, mbtex said:

Just did mine took about 2 weeks

Same here.

[Lobwedgephil 1,139]

Did it for my kids recently, one took 2 weeks, the other took 7 weeks. 

[BottleRocket 647]

For Austin

https://world.utexas.edu/passport

2400 Nueces Street, Suite B

• Phone: (512) 232-5899
• Email: passport@austin.utexas.edu

[Bernard 879]

In Houston you can your passport renewed in one day if you go downtown to the Mickey Leland Federal Building. You must provide proof of a departing flight in the near future (two weeks maybe). As I recall you need to make an appointment, although it’s not really an appointment. It’s just an appointment to wait in line.

Bernard

[PilotsError 2,321]

OP doesn’t trust the government to handle an official government document.

Not should he.

[bernorange 8,365]

Out here in the burbs where I live, "passport renewal agencies" = local post office.  You should definitely get yours within 8 weeks, but you can request (and pay a small fee for) expedited processing if you want.

[Homercles 10,206]

Like everyone else said, mine was back in my hands within 2 weeks of mailing it without any expediting...then again just keep on doing you I guess, just no more rental ‘coupons’ that actually increase the cost.

[Orange&White 5,539]

My GF and I are taking our sons to London next week. The GF's daughter is going to China for a school trip. All five of us had to renew our Passports/green cards before the trip. Two were pretty standard, two were absolute fucking nightmares.

My renewal was smooth as silk. 17 days from the day I dropped it into the mailbox, I received the new one. My son's was the same way.

GF's son's ran into several snags with different parts of the agencies not liking the copies of the birth certificate, ended up having to pay about $450 for the private super expedited. That was done on Monday of this week. They say we'll have it on Tuesday. Plane leaves Saturday.

GF is actually a foreign citizen and has a resident alien card that we started the process of last August when we returned from Australia. Total time for renewal of that and a new green card to be delivered: 10 months. Thankfully they extended the expiration of the old card until the new card was processed.

The daughters was the absolute shitshow.

Mom and daughter go directly to the passport office, fill out all of the paperwork, hand over all of the documents pay the money, sign the papers etc. Two weeks later, a letter comes that says she was supposed to include the old passport. Well she did, she handed it to the mother fucker at the OFFICIAL PASSPORT OFFICE who mailed in the forms. The national bureau says, "sorry, we didn't get it, check with your local office". She goes back to that office, finds the manager, manager takes her to the desk of the guy that helped her, explains that he must have "forgotten" to include the passport in the envelope. No fucking shit, the assholes says "I can neither confirm, nor deny that the passport was provided to me, or placed in the envelope". REALLY MOTHERFUCKER??? Why would you send the envelope out without having the fucking old passport in it when you know damn well that it has to be included. Why would you even talk to the person across the table if they didn't bring it? Why give them a receipt saying that it was all provided? To the surprise of no one at all, the manager doesn't do shit and the guy that fucked up just sat there and stared. "We apologize for the inconvenience".

Next step, she has to file a "Lost or stolen passport " form, which is good that both are on the same form, because we didn't fucking lose it, one of you're fucking employees stole it. 

Total time to get that passport renewed and associated visas: one hundred and sixty fucking days. Not to mention there is a passport of my GF's daughter floating around in the wild ripe and ready for identity theft.

Thankfully all five of us are now good for 10 more years.

Edited May 25, 2018 by Orange^White

[NeverMarryAStripper 21,922]

If your GF us a foreign citizen why does she have a U.S. passport?

[midtown 3,348]

I went to renew 2 passports ago.  At the time I had the anniversary green US passport.  Did all the paperwork, pictures, etc and dropped it all in the mail.  Two weeks late I get my torn and mangled application back in an envelope with a not saying my letter was damaged during the mail process.  No passport.  How does a letter get damaged at a mail facility and the passport just disappear?  and I really wanted to keep that anniversary green one.  Now I have to apply like a brand new with the lost passport form and now I have to get a copy of my birth certificate from fucking Hawaii where I was born.   

[Lobwedgephil 1,139]

36 minutes ago, midtown said:

I went to renew 2 passports ago.  At the time I had the anniversary green US passport.  Did all the paperwork, pictures, etc and dropped it all in the mail.  Two weeks late I get my torn and mangled application back in an envelope with a not saying my letter was damaged during the mail process.  No passport.  How does a letter get damaged at a mail facility and the passport just disappear?  and I really wanted to keep that anniversary green one.  Now I have to apply like a brand new with the lost passport form and now I have to get a copy of my birth certificate from fucking Hawaii where I was born.   

The best part will be the extra secondary screening you get for about 10 years for losing a passport. 

[Orange&White 5,539]

50 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

If your GF us a foreign citizen why does she have a U.S. passport?

She had to renew her greencard, which is why I said passports/greencards.

[gsoda3 3,283]

1 hour ago, Orange^White said:

My GF and I are taking our sons to London next week. The GF's daughter is going to China for a school trip. All five of us had to renew our Passports/green cards before the trip. Two were pretty standard, two were absolute fucking nightmares.

My renewal was smooth as silk. 17 days from the day I dropped it into the mailbox, I received the new one. My son's was the same way.

GF's son's ran into several snags with different parts of the agencies not liking the copies of the birth certificate, ended up having to pay about $450 for the private super expedited. That was done on Monday of this week. They say we'll have it on Tuesday. Plane leaves Saturday.

GF is actually a foreign citizen and has a resident alien card that we started the process of last August when we returned from Australia. Total time for renewal of that and a new green card to be delivered: 10 months. Thankfully they extended the expiration of the old card until the new card was processed.

The daughters was the absolute shitshow.

Mom and daughter go directly to the passport office, fill out all of the paperwork, hand over all of the documents pay the money, sign the papers etc. Two weeks later, a letter comes that says she was supposed to include the old passport. Well she did, she handed it to the mother fucker at the OFFICIAL PASSPORT OFFICE who mailed in the forms. The national bureau says, "sorry, we didn't get it, check with your local office". She goes back to that office, finds the manager, manager takes her to the desk of the guy that helped her, explains that he must have "forgotten" to include the passport in the envelope. No fucking shit, the assholes says "I can neither confirm, nor deny that the passport was provided to me, or placed in the envelope". REALLY MOTHERFUCKER??? Why would you send the envelope out without having the fucking old passport in it when you know damn well that it has to be included. Why would you even talk to the person across the table if they didn't bring it? Why give them a receipt saying that it was all provided? To the surprise of no one at all, the manager doesn't do shit and the guy that fucked up just sat there and stared. "We apologize for the inconvenience".

Next step, she has to file a "Lost or stolen passport " form, which is good that both are on the same form, because we didn't fucking lose it, one of you're fucking employees stole it. 

Total time to get that passport renewed and associated visas: one hundred and sixty fucking days. Not to mention there is a passport of my GF's daughter floating around in the wild ripe and ready for identity theft.

Thankfully all five of us are now good for 10 more years.

that's frustrating.  there's a certain level of ineptitude at passport and post offices (and dmvs) unmatched by anything in the private sector.  it's somewhat fascinating.  does the culture of knowing your job is safe breed that sloth and carelessness?  

 

i sent my green card in for renewal in 1997.  2005 rolls around and i still hadn't gotten it back.  after thousands of dollars worth of lawyers' fees, dozens of hours in line at the immigration office, and SEVEN YEARS LATER... i got my citizenship instead.  boggles my mind.

[F250 28,823]

 

[Gil Bang 26,028]

9 hours ago, midtown said:

I went to renew 2 passports ago.  At the time I had the anniversary green US passport.  Did all the paperwork, pictures, etc and dropped it all in the mail.  Two weeks late I get my torn and mangled application back in an envelope with a not saying my letter was damaged during the mail process.  No passport.  How does a letter get damaged at a mail facility and the passport just disappear?  and I really wanted to keep that anniversary green one.  Now I have to apply like a brand new with the lost passport form and now I have to get a copy of my birth certificate from fucking Hawaii where I was born.   

Will you be getting the "long form" BC?