My Passport Renewal Journey

We just received our renewed passports last week. Our old ones did not expire until October 2022, but the travel plans we have for next year did not allow enough time between trips for renewal next year. We sent our applications through certified mail just before all of the news/forum posts about long delays in processing--June 8th. The checks were not cashed until July 8th, and processing took 10 weeks. We received the emails that our new passports were in the mail the day they arrived. Our documents have not returned yet.

One more thing to check off our list. . . .

10 weeks processing is encouraging. That would put me into late November if mine takes the same amount of time yours did.

My wife submitted her renewal last June with expedited processing, priority mail and paying for priority mail return. It took about 5-6 weeks to get her new passport. Still hasn't gotten her Global Entry updated, but hasn't tried recently.

Wow! I just received my new passport this morning. That’s 34 days from the day my check was cashed, 9/17/2021. The backlog is improving at least here on the East Coast.

It seems the backlog has been worked down to a manageable pile.

I used 'regular' processing for our renewals . Mailed out on 9-11 and back in our mailbox on 10-14.

One oddity I observe is that my passport has an Oct 6 expiration date and wife has an Oct 7 expiration. Renewal packets were sent in a single envelope and both arrived back the same day ( separately)

Good news, Joe. I was scared into submitting my passport renewal months early by other posters with horror stories of extremely long renewal periods, I am pleasantly surprised and happy to share the good news.

Well not for hubs. He did not want to lie. We are not leaving until June 2022, so no rush service. Mailed off 6-24-21. Check not cashed until 8-11. Still in process and Not received yet. This is just ridiculous!

Kim,
That is excruciatingly long. I would be so anxious, I don’t like having my passport out of my control. I hope it comes soon. I know you are excited about your travel plans next year!

I was one of the fortunate ones - getting my passport back in 37 days with expedited services.

My husband wasn't as lucky - and we mailed our applications at the same time, in the same way. To save time and a few $$, we used a phone app for our photos and printed them out at home. Mine photo was accepted, his was not. Two days ago, he got an email requesting a new photo. Yesterday, he went to CVS and had an official photo made and has overnighted it to Passport Services - we hope that it gets to the right place and back in time. We booked flights to Spain that leave in less than 3 weeks!

Learn from our experience and make sure that your photo is acceptable!

Good advice, Sharon. Interesting that your husband’s was rejected but yours was accepted. Good luck on it receiving it in time for your trip!
I had my photo done at Walgreens and it was accepted.

Oh No Sharon! I hope that they know about your trip or you can make a phone call to let them know. It actually sounds like they are paying attention to these situations and may expedite yours even for a fee.

Just curious...if you signed up for email updates, did you actually receive any?

I didn’t sign up for email updates. So I can’t speak to that.

Thanks Judy B. Glad you received your new one. Happy travels.

Just today received my used passport in the mail. Only 5 blank pages and the others with stamps telling the story of my travels, what fun to have. This is my third expired passport. My new one will likely be my last. I hope in the coming years to enjoy many fulfilling European adventures.