Passport still in “received” status

It states routine processing is 6 to 9 weeks, so you are definitely within that window. I don't see any issues. I don't believe you need to input the passport number to buy a plane ticket, you can do it once you receive the passport.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/renew.html

You don't need to enter a current passport number to buy tickets. You can add that later easily.

It's just been 5 weeks since you began the process, and that is not an excessive delay. May 1st is still a long time off, and you should be fine. I'd go ahead and buy my tickets, and not worry too much about it for another month. Travel demand is still very high - that seems to be the New Normal. The pandemic is still with us (in many ways), this is one consequence of that.

It took 18 weeks for a mail in passport renewal at the height of the pandemic. Be patient. I agree, absolutely no reason not to buy plane tickets now. A passport not needed to purchase, only to travel.

Hi mlstimeotravel,

I see no reason to worry. When I renewed my passport last year it look weeks for the status to change from received to in process. I would feel comfortable purchasing airfare while your passport is still in this status. Most all airline have removed change fees for all non basic economy tickets. Safe Travels

I mailed in my passport renewal on Dec 27th. (I was renewing too early to be eligible for the new online process.)

I've been checking the status daily, out of curiosity, and it has said "No status available" until today (23 days after mail-in) when it finally shows as "In process."

The website says the 6-9 week clock starts on their date of receipt, which shows as January 3 in my case. It was 16 days after their receipt that the status finally showed as "In process." So, even though your renewal doesn't yet say "in process," the renewal clock may be ticking. At least let's hope!

I sent my expedited renewal last week.

Saturday, January 14--they received it. (Priority Mail Tracking)

Wednesday, January 18--"In Progress"

Not bad considering Monday the 16th was a Federal Holiday.

Now we'll see how long it actually takes.

Thanks again for all of your posts. They helped me think this through. On Tuesday this week we went to “manage your account” on the state department website and expedited our passport (cost 60.00) and changed to express delivery (cost 18.00) and soon the same day we got a message that the passport was in the “in process” category.
I am pretty sure that we had enough time for our trip but I didn’t want to worry about it and I had had a passport issue before (completely my fault, no one else’s). Just wanted people to know of the above options. Will let you all know when it actually arrives!

Wow, that is excellent it moved to "in process" so quickly! Apparently shaking the tree helped, lol!!

I'd go ahead and get your tickets!

On Tuesday this week we went to “manage your account” on the state department website and expedited our passport (cost 60.00) and changed to express delivery (cost 18.00) and soon the same day we got a message that the passport was in the “in process” category.

Perhaps I am too cynical, but I have a struggle to believe the payment you made by an electronic interaction with a computer triggered someone to go find your paperwork and start processing it the same day. I would be inclined to believe it was a coincidence, not a cause/effect kind of thing.

Anyway, good news that its 'on the move'

My wife renewed her passport online on Dec 2. She just got an email yesterday (Friday) that here passport was on its way. Tracking shows that it will be delivered early next week. As a FYI, she got a email on Wed that said the status of her application was "in process". So for her it took 2 days to go from "In Process" to "Shipped"

I checked the status of my renewal again this morning. Despite providing me previously with an application locator number and status of In Process, it says Status not Available again. Maybe they're tired of me asking 😆

ETA: Later this same day, my passport status is "Approved" and they say I should receive it in about 1 week. If that were to be the case, it would be 1 month, from mail in date to arrival. Not expedited.

We got the passport! It arrived five days after we changed to expedited service snd express mail. Whether or not that was coincidence I sure don’t know.
Thanks for the posts!

Glad that you have it. Happy planning !

I am so happy you got it and that you updated your thread.

I was just talking to my nephew last night who submitted his renewal in early Dec and has not gotten it back yet. He's headed to Mexico in March. I will send him your experience and maybe suggest he go ahead and do the expedite on it.

I think you can only change to expedited at a certain stage, maybe when in the "received" stage, but I am not sure. So if he wants to do it, Pam, he might have to do it during an allowed time period.

I applied for my new passport on Nov 21, and it arrived in the mail last week. Following that schedule, your husband might expect to receive his by about February 9th. I think 8 weeks for non-expedited is pretty reasonable.
Has the check been cashed yet? My check was cashed about a week after I mailed in my old passport and application.
Good luck!

Thank you for that tip mlstimetotravel! I'll have him check...if he'll respond to a text from his old auntie, hahaha! Those kids.

For others who are reviewing this thread to get an idea of processing times ...

I received my new passport today, 31 days (inclusive) from certified US Mail to passport receipt.

Dec 27 - US Mailed (to TX processing facility) with regular processing (not expedited)
Jan 3 - received by US Dept of State (this info was noted on Jan 19th, not earlier)
Jan 19 - passport renewal status is "In Process" for the first time (I was checking daily)
Jan 21 - passport renewal status is "Approved" and said I would receive "on or around Jan 28"
Jan 26 - received new passport book and new passport card (status still says Approved, it never said Shipped)

@mlstimetotravel, I checked and his passport is "in process" so I'll have him check again in a couple of days. If he matches up with CWSocial's time frame he should be getting it next week!

@CWsocial, thanks for posting your time frame. I gave that info to the kiddo and told him to keep checking.

congratulations CWsocial That sounds like a reasonable turnaround.

Hi- I renewed my passport online 1/25/23. Paid for expedited service. It’s still in Received status. Is that ok for expedited service? Thanks

That seems a bit slow to me. Seems like it should be “in process” by now for an expedited passport. I got my very quickly after mine said “in process”. I think there is a number to call for expedited passports. Depending on when you are leaving and how unsettling this might feel, you could try to contact someone about it.
Hope you receive it soon!

Mine (expedited) went into "in process" the day they received it. (1/18/23). I received it exactly six weeks later. (It was sent overnight to me.)

I submitted an online passport renewal on January 3, 2023. My debit card was charged and I checked to day on March 13, 2023 and the status is still just "received". It has been almost 10 weeks. I try to call but they are never accepting any calls. How long does it take to renew a passport routinely now? Should I get worried that something has gone wrong? I don't have travel planned anytime soon but may need it for work without a huge amount of notice. I thought by now I would have it back.

Its good you don’t have travel planned right now. Less to worry about.
I would be concerned but the only step I know you can do is pay more for expedited service.
Hope you get it soon.

How long does it take to renew a passport routinely now?

Excellent question. ( Official answer-- Mar 9, 2023
Important Updates on Passport Processing
We expect 2023 to be our busiest summer travel season on record
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/passports/passport-processing-updates.html)

From reading about the experiences, it seems to be quite variable, but "longer" seems to be a prevalent theme

What's crazy is that I mailed my application in about 3 weeks after my husband's online application. I have received my new passport, but my husband's status is still received. His application was 27 Jan 23.

What's crazy is that I mailed my application in about 3 weeks after my husband's online application. I have received my new passport, but my husband's status is still received. His application was 27 Jan 23.

I wonder what the government knows about your husband that you don't? :-)

My app went in Jan 9th. Still in "received" over 12 weeks later. This is nuts!

More than a little frustrated that they cancel your existing passport the moment you submit, rather than when it is processed.