Please sign in to post.

Passport renewal story

Posted by (Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico) on

There is no category that fits this post, so I'm posting under Technology Tips just because...

I had to renew my US passport, although it didn't expire until 2028, because I was running out of blank pages. Living in Mexico means things take longer to get where they're going, so I allowed plenty of time before my next trip, which isn't until mid-March. Because my passport didn't expire within a year, online renewal wasn't an option.

So on Monday, January 5, I sent my application and all essential documentation to the consulate in Guadalajara. I used DHL, and I enclosed a prepaid DHL envelope for the return.

Here's how the timing went down:

  • Friday, January 9: I received an email from the consulate saying they received my passport application and would be sending it to a passport agency in the US for processing.
  • Tuesday, January 13: I received an email from the State Department saying that they received my application, and it would take 4-6 weeks for processing starting from that date.
  • Wednesday, January 14: I received an email from the State Department saying that they have mailed my new passport. They said my old passport would be sent back separately.
  • Tuesday, January 27: I received an email from the consulate in Guadalajara saying they have sent my passport back to my via DHL.
  • Wednesday, January 28: My new passport arrived, along with my old one. I suspect they waited to receive the old one before sending it back to me.

I guess they say 4-6 weeks to lower expectations. I knew it might not take that long, but I certainly didn't expect them to complete processing in 24 hours! A friend who used to be a travel agent said this is low season for passport renewals. So you shouldn't necessarily expect such speedy service.

Posted by
3520 posts

Thanks for the good report Lane. A friend of mine in Oregon renewed her passport by mail and it only took nine days! Time for me to renew mine too !

Posted by
746 posts

I thought they weren’t going to stamp pages anymore? Why would you be running out of pages if that is the case. Maybe I’m misunderstanding what I thought I read.

Posted by
2311 posts

L2T, I travel to a lot of countries where they still stamp passports. And everytime I depart from and arrive back in Mexico, that's 2 stamps. I will have at least three trips out of and back into Mexico this year, possibly more.

This year I'm arriving in the Schengen zone once before the EES is in effect, so I will probably get a stamp on arrival. Also this year I'm going to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Réunion (part of France but not part of Schengen), Madagascar, Mongolia, Japan, Korea, China, and back to Japan. I believe each of these countries will stamp my passport on arrival and on departure. And the China visa will be a sticker in my passport.

So yes, running out of pages is still a thing.

Posted by
632 posts

I had that problem also and had to renew a year or so early. It wasn’t that there was no room for stamps, there was plenty, but rather the picky rules some countries have about the number of consecutive blank visa pages you’re supposed to have, which are sometimes enforced, and South Africa where I planned to travel is notorious for this. You can request at no additional charge a passport with 52 rather than 26 pages so that’s what I did for the renewal. It’s a bit thicker but not annoyingly so, and now I have more than enough room for any conceivable travel through 2034 — just when, as noted, many countries are doing away with stamps altogether.

Posted by
2311 posts

Slate, my old passport and my new passport both have the extra pages. I guess I just travel too much!

Posted by
1716 posts

I too always get the larger passport book and also had to renew early last year due to lack of pages for my current Africa trip that I’m wrapping up before heading to India. Because of all my complicated connections and overnights in Istanbul, Tunis, and Doha I’m calculating that I will get about 20 entry and exit stamps in addition to getting 3 full page visas just in one trip. I’m not that hopeful that this passport will last another 9 years with most of the countries I’m hoping to visit requiring either entry/exit stamps and/or visas.

The biggest pain in all of this is the hoops one needs to go through just to get a visa. At least a lot of countries are finally moving to e-visas which removes the need to mail in your passport and then hope you get it back in time for your trip

Posted by
9225 posts

I guess they say 4-6 weeks to lower expectations.

I think it is accurate advice for the most of us that renew via mail in the US, but I suspect going through an embassy probably expedites the process.

Posted by
2311 posts

Arnold, you're right about the visa issue. It can be a pain. And imagine how much more complicated it is for me, living in Mexico. I'm going to China later this year, and I'm considering flying to Mexico City, hand-delivering my passport and visa application to the embassy there, and staying until I can pick it up. It's my understanding they require an in-person visit for travelers under 70 years of age, and I turn 70 2 weeks from today, so technically, I could probably send it in.

Last year I went to Nepal. They do allow for visa on arrival, but because I was traveling with a group, the tour company strongly urged us to get our visas in advance. I sent my passport via FedEx. It sat in Memphis for two weeks before it finally got to the embassy in Washington.

With all the trips I have planned this year, my windows for being without my passport are narrow. It makes me anxious to send my passport away. But I don't anticipate China will offer an eVisa (or visa-free entry) for US citizens any time soon.

Posted by
11409 posts

I guess they say 4-6 weeks to lower expectations. I knew it might not take that long, but I certainly didn't expect them to complete processing in 24 hours!

That's what happened to me when I ordered my renewal passport online on November 11. I received a response confirming the order telling me I should receive it by Dec. 31. But on Nov. 19, I received another email telling me the application had been processed, approved and mailed, and it was in my mailbox the next day on November 20.

I was very surprised, to say the least, but also happy that I had it. I don't like the picture, but I have no one to blame for that but myself, since I took it.
I'm glad yours worked out well, Lane!

Add Reply

Please do not reply to violations of our Community Guidelines.