Passport question

Only if you leave tomorrow.

I think with Government agencies, patience is necessary. Maybe in 3-4 weeks I would get concerned.

We leave for Spain in three weeks

You can go to the State Dept. Website and check on the status of that passport.

Still no need to get too concerned. I know when we renewed earlier this year, we sent them in and paid for tracking through the USPS, so we knew they got there, then later on my wife used the tracking option online. Start here: https://passportstatus.state.gov/ maybe that will shed some light.

Ordinarily, I would say wait until the end of this week to get concerned. But with next week being the July 4th holiday, I think I would check with State Dept. this week. By MO is get concerned when there's still plenty of time to fix it. I'd rather worry 3 weeks ahead than one week ahead.

Update: My daughter's passport still has not arrived. I have been in touch with the state department several times this week and they are concerned as well. It is well outside of the 4-6 week turnaround that was estimated at time of application. It turns out that her passport went to a facility in South Carolina and not the same facility that processed my other two children's passports. Trying to have faith that this will work out since we are traveling soon.

Because you got concerned when you still had plenty of time to remedy the situation, I'm confident you will get that passport before you leave, but you should continue to contact the State Dept. for updates so they will not forget about it.

Unfortunately, 4 to 6 weeks is an estimate; it is not a guarantee. Because I was in no rush, mine arrived 15 days after I had mailed it for renewal. Since you sent your family’s renewals more close to a trip, the opposite is occurring unfortunately.

Faith in the system is nice; that said I recommend a back up plan just in case.

If it gets to be one week before your trip and there is no passport, go to a passport office in which you can get it the same day. It will cost you quite a bit of money and a lot of time waiting on lines but it may be better to be safe than sorry.

How were you able to buy airline tickets without their current passport information? I did not know you could do that. Maybe you can; I just don’t know.

Anyway, please don’t let this get down to the wire.

Passport update: It is still not here! I have been calling every day for over two weeks. Last week I paid for expedited service. They keep saying that it is still being processed. Our flight is on Tuesday, although they are under the impression that it is on Sunday. Needless to say, I am not sleeping at all! I did ask for help from my congressman's office, but that does not seem helpful thus far.

Any thoughts?

Yikes I hope it works out keep us posted ! I’d be pretty choked ! Can’t you go down to office and get an emergency issue passport ?

Hopefully you made an appointment for an emergency passport application and that you have a location you can reach. They CAN do it in a day. I wonder if someone thinks they have found a problem with the application paperwork, thus the delay. Call your congressman again for sure.

They have an "urgent" notification on the passport. I figured I would wait one more day and then look into the emergency passport idea. I am just not sure how it works.

What's the actual date of the flight?

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/where-to-apply/passport-agencies.html

We leave next Tuesday, but the State Dept thinks we leave Sunday

We leave next Tuesday, but the State Dept thinks we leave Sunday

Tuesday-16th?

Sunday-- 14th or 21st?

When OP is less stressed it would be interesting to know why State Dept thinks the departure is on a Sunday.

I think the OP told the state dept Sunday instead of Tuesday to give a "cushion" and a sense of urgency.

Have your plan "b", one day passport service, ready just in case.

jill5bill - I'm starting to get stressed out for you! I'm sorry to see you've been going through all this!

A friend had a similar situation a few years back, with no passport and his travel dates fast approaching. Always looking for an excuse for a road trip, I offered to drive with him to Los Angeles (from Las Vegas) so he could get his passport same-day. Not sure where you are, but as others have mentioned there are some passport agency offices that can process and issue passports same-day like that. Have you asked about this when calling the State Dept about status updates? Perhaps try, on your next call, seeing if you can make an appointment at your nearest passport agency that can issue it on the spot (takes a few hours, but at least you can leave with it in-hand).

Keep calling your congress person. Make sure you mention that if they don't help you you will be sure to tell ALL your friends and neighbors about their assistance!

Ours moved a friends passport from "lost" to "here the next day" with one call so it can be done!

“Any thoughts?”

Yes. I mentioned up thread that you go to the closest passport office & arrive before they open so you can be among the 1st that day to apply & get the passport in one day while you’re waiting. If you want a passport, what other options are there? Contacting a politician is hit or miss depending upon the politician.

A positive turn of events: At 9:30 last night, on my third call to the State Dept of the day, we got a UPS tracking number. I checked the UPS website and it is truly on its way and due to arrive by 10:30 this morning. I am feeling greatly relieved and ready to start getting excited about our trip!
A few notes:
I am glad I did not wait to start calling about the passport.

Calling frequently was beneficial. Every third or fourth agent we got actually did put a note in the the processing center to help bring attention to the matter. Of course many in between were condescending or apathetic.
The supposed passport tracking that they say you can do when you apply is practically useless and is not updated regularly.
I was told by several of the agents that if I did need to go to an agency to get the passport in time that they would have called me, although I am not sure if this is reliable information.
Thank you all for your support!

Oh, that is great news! I know you must have been worried sick but congratulations on being persistent! I hope it is now in your hands.

and... and...

WE ARE GOING TO SPAIN! YAY!

YEAH!!!!! What a relief. Sorry you had so much worry before hand. I hope you have a fantastic trip.

It genuinely made me happy to read the update! Happy to hear it all came through! Have a fantastic trip!

and the happiness is palpable - and upwards and onwards - you will have a great time. So happy for you...