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A Tale Of Two Online Passport Renewals

Posted by (Atlanta) on

Thanks for all the input you gave me when I previously asked about the online renewal process. Applying for the renewals online was basically a breeze. Ten or twelve minutes max each.

Tale #1. Submitted online application for renewal on 30 June. Received an email stating application had been received, and another saying processing was taking place. Received passport card on 13 July and passport book on 15 July.

Tale #2. Spouse submitted online application for renewal within 30 minutes of my application. Received email stating application had been received, one saying "it" had been mailed, and then one saying processing was taking place. Received passport book on 22 July and passport card on 24 July.

Your "mileage" will probably vary, so plan accordingly.

Posted by
106 posts

Thanks for the report. That lag between receiving the 2 passports that were essentially applied for at the same time would have had me worrying!

Posted by
5745 posts

mjh-travel, We're not sure, but think the renewals were handled by two different facilities even though they were filed at the same time.

We weren't really worried because we received confirmations the applications were received, and that they could take 4 to 6 weeks to process. Actually surprised that we got them so quickly.

Maybe it's just the luck of the draw. Or perhaps so things do still work as they should. But to be safe, allow plenty of time for the renewal process to work.

Posted by
1477 posts

The lag wouldn't be anything to worry about.
Each application is a separate file, and probably routed into different work queues across the country. One application may have faced manual checks for photo or identity verification, while the other cleared the automated system instantly. Different work queues, different processing centers, different printing and shipping.

You can use your 9 digit passport locator number to find out where each passport was processed. Use this link and scroll down to -
https://travel.state.gov/en/passports/after-you-apply/application-status.html
"How to know which location is processing your application"

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