US Passport Problems Redux - July 2 Update

By PHK

July 2 Update: For practical suggestions on navigating the US passport application process, please see our Tips Page.

For all WV posts on US passport issuance problems (they begin February 7, 2007) except The Tips Page, please see WhirledView Categories (righthand column) and click on US Passports and Visas.

We closed comments on this post on May 16, 2007 - but comments on the more recent "The Erratic State of US Passport Issuance" and "The Erratic State of US Passport Issuance Continues" are welcome.

This is the fourth in our series on the continuing saga of US passport issuance delays.

Previous WhirledView posts with additional information on this topic: US Passport Delays to continue . . . on March 30, US Passport Delays Drag on at State on March 14 and American International Travelers Beware: don't buy that ticket until your passport's in hand on February 7.

Why is it that the US national media is still so willing to take this administration at its word? Have reporters learned nothing since W and his minions came to power?

On April 2, AP unquestioningly reported the passport “good news” story just as the State Department wanted it told. Namely “a boost in staffing and overtime and weekend hours at the 17 passport agencies has reduced processing delays. . . . Expedited applications, which require an additional fee, will now again be processed in two weeks, down from four at the height of the crisis. Standard applications will still take 10 weeks,” the Department said according to AP.

That announcement came over a week ago: would that it were so. It may be true that delays are down, I know one of my former colleagues received his expedited passport in record time – but for the State Department to try to reassure frantic citizens that all is back to normal when lengthy delays continue is not only a really bad idea from a public relations standpoint but a breach of the public trust.

If the situation were as hunky-dory as the Department claims, then why is it that we at WhirledView still receive comments from desperate American citizens trying to figure out how to wrest their documents from the unnamed bottomless passport agency pit and save overseas trips they have already paid for from disaster because they still don’t have their passports?

If all were right in Foggy Bottom, why do my previous three posts on US Passport Delay problems remain as Google “best sellers?”

If all is back to normal in the US passport issuance world, why did the State Department finally announce only last week that it plans to rehire up to 150 retired Foreign Service Officers with previous consular work experience to bolster the staff of beleaguered passport agency offices throughout the US to help deal with the overload?

And if “alles” is really “ in ordnung,” why did CBS’s Harrisburg affiliate just report today that “It used to take about 4 to 6 weeks to get (a passport). But now with more people than ever applying for passports its taking up to 3 months”?

Meanwhile, for those of you - like the reporter at CBS Harrisburg - who have just discovered what a mess the situation really is and need your passport sooner rather than a month or so after you were supposed to have returned from the trip you may not be able to take because you don’t have your passport and your documents back, please see the following WhirledView post for what to do to help yourself.

And a few additional suggestions - thanks to several commenters who have raised the questions for which I now have answers:

• If you need to schedule an emergency appointment at one of the regional passport agencies and the location is not close to you, I’m advised that you will need to take the trouble and bear the inconvenience of traveling to the local passport office even if it means a lengthy drive, an overnight stay and taking kids out of school – but don’t do this without having first secured an appointment. Your Congressional District Office staffer can help make your emergency appointment and will do it for free.

• A reminder for in-person appointments for children’s passports: both parents need to be present or, if not, the absent parent must sign a notarized approval for the child to obtain a passport.

• Finally, given the way the system operates or doesn’t, there is no advantage in paying a private expediter to arrange for your appointment at an emergency passport agency office when congressional offices will do this for their constituents free of charge.

Before you place all the blame on the US State Department - aside from its misleading statements about over optimistic claims of efficiency - please understand that its ranks were decimated during the 1990s in the name of post-Cold War government downsizing, that a desperately needed personnel increase under Secretary Colin Powell alleviated the problem somewhat, but that additional personnel requirements placed on the Department as a result of the Afghanistan and Iraq occupations and Condi Rice’s decision to increase positions in countries like India and China but not request additional Foreign Service positions overall have left far too many State Department positions unfilled in the US and in American Embassies overseas.

The bottom line: there is just are not enough staff to take on the added passport issuance requirements once air travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean were included in January 2007. To make matters worse: Expect a further increase in passport requests in or before January 2008 when passports are required for land travel to Mexico and Canada.

Meanwhile, according to an article in The New Mexico Magazine of March 25-31, somewhere along the line, a crucial piece of the passport issuance process was privatized to Citigroup. This too factors into the delay problem and slows down issuance – because this piece of the contract operation is also understaffed.

So with the caveat that paying a fixer won’t help, Brady Kiesling’s comment on an earlier post on this topic rings all too true:

“This administration had decided to make U.S. public sector services more like the ones in Southern Europe. There, if you stand in line, you will wait forever. For bureaucratic service in your lifetime you must either pay a fixer, generally a former civil servant, or else incur a debt to your local politician. The system works, sort of, but if you asked any Greek or South Italian, he/she would tell you we would be insane to trade our system for theirs.”

Unfortunately, the fastest and sometimes only way to cut through the US passport issuance bottleneck is via the offices of your members of Congress. It’s not the way this railroad should be run and it certainly should not become the American government's modus operandi with respect to a basic and crucial fee-for-service operation for its citizens.

Meanwhile, the administration needs to get its act together pronto, stop the public obfuscation and request Congressional help to acquire enough funds and qualified personnel to fix it. Now.

Comments

[Mike]

It is a disgrace what is going on regarding passports....mine have been up there 10 weeks today, I am leaving on 4/25....one passport shows up today, the others? Still in New Orleans!

My Senator's office is helping....and I called my House Rep....they seemed like they wanted to help, but so far, no information.

I am about ready to call my local TV station to get some help....maybe that will wake up people to this outrageous problem.....I paid $400 for these things and a $5,000 vacation and it may all fall apart so we can send another Billion Dollars to Iraq....what a joke.

[CKR]

Mike - You make an interesting point. I've been wondering why this story is so absent from the MSM. I think I've seen one article in CNN a couple of weeks ago assuring everyone that everything would be fine in a couple of weeks.

[Michelle]

Well, I've got a better one the post office lost my husbands passport and we are also leaving April 25th. But probably not because noone can tell if it even left Houston or not. My congesswomans office is really trying to help but are hittng brick walls also. I call them and they use the tracking number like we all can and say they can't help us.

[Dawnetta]

Advise to all. If you need your passport in less than 11 weeks don't listen to the advice of the lady standing behind the passport counter at the post office - get expedited service. We are learning the hard way. She promised we would get our passport by April 18th. It's now the 24 and on the travel.state.gov website it just says it's being "processed". I finally got through after waiting for three hours and they told me they had no idea when we would get it and they are doing the best that they can. I also asked if it's too late to expedite it and he said yes (even though I have read on the internet you can call them and have them expedite it even though you already sent it off). Going to keep calling to see if I can get more info.

[PHK]

Dawnetta: My advice - immediately call your Congressperson's home district office. Did State's website also give you a tracking number? With that tracking number a Congressional staffer can help you expedite the process - no one from State will but the passport agency does respond to Congress. Without the number the staffer can make an emergency appointment for you.

[Barb]

We submitted the renewal application for my daughter's passport on January 31st, and today marks 12 weeks since we submitted it and still no passport. The State Department website was quoting a six week turnaround when we submitted. HA.

To add insult to injury, the passport help line forces you to listen to a lot of useless blather before telling you that there are already too many people in queue and then summarily disconnecting the call. Repeatedly. I finally got through, only to find out that the reason I got through was because their system was down. But that rep gave me the scoop:

It's the fault of the cruise lines.

Yes, the cruiselines were scaring people into thinking that they needed a passport for Mexican or Caribbean cruises in case they got hurt and needed to fly back to the US when that's never been the case.

Now you know.

Then there's the option of sending them an email. That too is a joke. The response I got said to allow 10 weeks, even though the data I'd submitted showed that it had already been 11 weeks, which is still greater than 10 out here in Colorado.

I'd like to understand why a user fee funded program is run so incompetently, and why a passport renewal takes so much time, particularly when the name hasn't changed and the expiring passport is submitted with the application. Whover's in charge of the passport agency should be fired, and probably a few others besides. How much math does it take to figure out that you're going to need more staff and more capacity if you require that more travellers have passports.

[Gosia Muller]

I would like to find out why the post offices that accept applications for passport renewals do not let applicants know there are such huge delays. We submitted our daughter's passport for renewal on March 2nd, and were informed we had tons of time before we needed it back. Her old passport was still good until the end of Sept 2007.

Well, weeks have passed. We are supposed to leave for Europe on May 30th, and we still don't have the new passport... Had I known we might have not get it on time, we would have never renewed it prior to our trip.

Now, I have to wait until the stupid expedite machine will allow me to make an appointment (2 weeks prior to the trip and not a day earlier), take a day off (so does my husband) and pay the expedite fee - I guess...

This is extremely frustrating!!!

[Tess K]

I applied for a passport on Feb. 8th. I am (supposed to be) leaving for Europe on May 12 (less than 2 weeks from now). Calling the passport information center, calling my congressman, and even going to the regional passport agency in person have all yielded similar results....my being told that everything is fine and that I am being impatient. I have also been chastised for not getting expedited service, even though I applied 15 weeks in advance, and was told by the postal clerk when I applied that I could not get expedited service because I had plenty of time! I even showed up at the passport regional agency with a new birth certificate (that I had paid again for, and also paid to have sent overnight to my home) and new passport photos (again, not free!). I live two hours away, and had to take time off work. But I was told that because my passport was too far along in the processing, there was absolutely nothing they could do for me today. They told me to come back next Thursday if I still hadn't gotten it.

I like the idea of going to the local news. People need to know about this before they book trips. It's like being a hostage in one's own country. I am truly at the mercy of some disgruntled government workers as to whether they want to "let" me leave the country.

[patricia kushlis]

Gosia: You're not the first person to complain about the post office staff's lack of knowledge about the severity of the delays but they're probably relying on the State Department's "overly optimistic" announcements which do not relect the reality. If you've got a tracking number, your Congressperson's district office staff can help expedite the passport processing. The staffer may not be able to do anything either until two weeks before your departure date - but it should be faster than waiting for State's mechanism to kick in.

Tess: complaining to your local media is fine. People should become more aware about this under-reported story, but please don't blame "disgruntled government workers." They did not make the mess - the State Department's higher ups who are mostly Bush appointees, OMB and last year's Congress failed to fund the passport agency adequately to meet the increased demand. What's worse, the head of the passport agency has been announcing that everything is being resolved and delays are lessening - which is not true - although the agency did recently get additional funding from Congress to hire more staff so maybe in several months things will start to improve. Further, this administration's reliance on outsourcing has put a crucial piece of the processing in the hands of only two offices of Citigroup. Clearly Citigroup remains understaffed because this is where the first bottleneck is located.

[Tess K]

I just wanted to give a follow up to my previous post.

First, I'm sorry for blaming the government workers at the passport agency. That was probably unfair. It really is a problem with the system as a whole not functioning properly, not the individuals within that system. I was in a "blaming" sort of mood on Monday.

Anyway, I did get my passport yesterday. It was overnight mailed to me, too. I think that was a result of me telling the clerk behind the desk at the regional agency that I wasn't leaving there without a passport unless they could guarantee that it would be overnight mailed to me when it was done. Because seriously, who knows how long regular mail would take?

The moral of the story here is that you need to be very proactive to avoid having your application ignored until it's too late. One of the times I called the hotline, I was quoted a mailing date that was a week after my trip! They say they are processing the applications according to travel date, but obviously they were (initially)ignoring my impending travel date. In hindsight, I think that contacting my congressman was what got them moving on my passport. My congressman's office had sent them an email (which I had initially thought wasn't going to do anything, because the passport service had already ignored all of my emails!), and it was only about five days later that I had my passport.

Summary:
Applied first week of February, NOT expedited
Got passport May 1st
Total time about 13 weeks

If you are travelling anytime in the next year, APPLY EARLY!!!! (Better yet, apply now!)

[patricia kushlis]

Tess: thanks so much for the update. I agree - apply early - and don't be afraid to ask your Congressperson's office staff for help if need be. The system is truly broken. Anyway, Have a great trip!

[Margaret A. Cooper]

I appied for a passport Feb. 2, 2007, at the Post Office here in Cabot, AR. It still has not arrived. Apply early? That's more than three months ago, so I am getting concerned. I hope to travel June 17. Can you help?

[CKR]

Margaret - Check our posts (links early in the post above) and the comments sections. The quick summary is here.

In a nutshell, check for your tracking number on the State Department website. If you can get the number, jot it down and call your Congressional District Office and ask the staffer who handles passport delays for help. If the number is not yet available ask the staffer to help arrange an emergency appointment for you at the nearest passport agency.

[Victoria]

Thank you for the information on this site. I wanted to add a piece of advice that I did not see earlier. If you call the number and are about to get cut off, hit 9, then 3, then 1, and it should put you back in the queue. I had to do it once a few times, but ended up being able to talk to someone.

So here's my other advice to people:
Start calling the passport office the first day it is within two weeks of your travel date, and call back again in a day or two (so don't wait a week like I did since that's what they told me to do). If they say to wait to call back, don't. One of them said it takes two calls to really get it expedited within the system.
If you're not getting anywhere with the above approach (understandable), contact your local congressional office--they are definitely aware of the problem and hopefully can help you. BUT, they are also in a bind in that they don't want to make the passport people mad, knowing that they're understaffed, so do not start bothering your office until you're truly in a bind. I could tell that other people had been calling the office when they still had a month to go, and really their resources are best suited for those in a last-minute situation (like me, who is leaving in 6 days without a passport).

While it's very frustrating, be nice (but firm) with the people you're speaking to. Everyone you're talking with is very aware of the problem, and it's not their fault, so being completely rude won't get you anywhere.

[CB]

I paid the extra money to expedite my passport back on March 17th and now going on eight weeks later, I still don't have it! It didn't even appear on the website until after my check cashed and that was a month after I applied. To make matters worst, the website first listed me as a routine application and then two weeks later it miraculously changed. I strongly believed I was processed as a routine application and not expedited. I called the post office since I also paid for express mail service and there is no record on that transaction within the Postal system. I've tried the toll-free line and can't make any head way on that. This has been an extremely frustrating experience and I feel there is absolutely no one to turn to for help. I paid an extra $74 dollars for nothing!

[patricia kushlis]

CB when do you need to travel? If in the next couple of weeks your Congressional District Office can weigh in on your behalf with the appropriate passport agency office and help get your passport dislodged. The staffer will need your tracking number so have it in front of you when you call. Good luck and let us know what happens. The passport agency's service is erratic and unpredictable.

[dave]

I need my passport before my travel date to save about $1000 on my plane ticket to Africa, i need a passport number to reserve my spot. I paid for expedited service (euphemism for bribe) based on the times I read on the website.

Reading through these posts it is obvious that I need to LIE about my departure date to get any service. This is only necessary because the passport office LIED TO ME about when my passport would be ready.....

I don't have a tracking number yet so I can't just get my representative on the case.

[Lydia G]

The money paid for expedited service should be refunded to the consumer, since the promised time is not fulfilled. Also how about us that miss our flights? We have to pay to change the flights or plead with the airline to waive the fee to change.

[Chad]

I am absolutely amazed at the number of people who seem to be experiencing the same problem. Does it not seem obvious that the system that is in place is simply not working!? My fiancee and I applied for our passports 2/22/07. We opted for routine service on the assumption that the time frames posted on the passport website were true. We are now on the 12th week waiting for passports that we were told would arrive within 10 weeks. Once our travel date was within the 14 day period (which is also a joke since many travel agencies etc. require itenerary confirmation before then) we called the NPIC, just as we were told. We were first told that they were being processed in New Orleans and they would now be expedited; we were also told to call back in approx. 3-4 days to obtain a tracking #. Needless to say, nothing ever changed. upon repeated calls back to the center, we kept being told that the employees were sending messages to N.O., but there was still no response. Apparently the public and the employees at the call centers can't speak with anyone in person at any of the processing locations; email only. I was then told that if needed, I could drive to the Chicago center and obtain passports on the same day. After yet another call, I was told that I needed an appt. but couldn't get one until after I was scheduled to return. It wasn't until I contacted my local congressman that the passports were even expedited. I feel like my congressman's office is really trying to do what they can, but it may too little too late. So now it is 5/10, which means my passports must ship overnight air tomorrow, or our trip and wedding is lost. My fiancee is devastated, as am I. Apparently, literally thousands of people are losing trips, and parts of their lives, in the name of homeland security. It is very disheartening to know that so many others are dealing with the same stress, lies, and emotional distress that we are. We are still hoping for the best, but the outlook is pretty grim. And all thanks to our wonderful Passport system. Best of luck to everyone else in similar situations.

[Brenda W]

I don't know if I feel better or worse after reading the posts here. Although it did help me to make the decision to call my local govt office for expediting help. If anyone traveling within 2 weeks hasn't done so, you need to contact them. I'm waiting for a call back now to see if they made progress for me to get my passport. I'm supposed to leave next wednesday May 16th for Ireland and Scotland and still no passport. I was told by the local office if I don't get it in time (the 15th promised by the passport agency which is the day before I'm supposed to leave), she'll make an appt. for me at the office in Los Angeles to get one at that time, 24 hrs. before I'm supposed to fly out of here! This is such a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness (if that's a word) that I can't explain and the stress on top of everything else is about to do me in. No wonder I can't sleep at night now. All the emails and phone calls are all just a bunch of cra_ with no meaning whatsoever from the passport agency/site and call center. Good luck everyone.

[Steve F]

A word of warning regarding Children Under 14. The law has changed so that both parents of the Child needs agree for the passport to be issued. In many cases some parents simply cannot be contacted. This makes it impossible for a single parent to apply for a passport for his or her child. -WARNING- Do not be fooled into thinking that if you give a reasonable explanation as to why one parent has not signed the papers it will be granted regardless - it won't. We tried this method and after waiting 11 weeks our child's passport was denied. This left us with 2 weeks to go to court and get a court order allowing her to travel. We did get the court order and are now waiting to see if we will get the passport. Its more expense .. court and lawyer costs!!!!

[Brenda W]

I want to post a followup to my previous message. When I was about 2 weeks away from my trip, I emailed the PP agency for status. They returned my email with the message that when I was 2 wks away, I could email them with the wording "Please expedite my passport". I did as the Passport site suggested and 4 days later still no word or change on the site. Finally Monday this week I was able to speak with a live person after being on hold 45 minutes and was told they received my email to "Expedite" but nothing was done on it yet. A word of warning do not solely depend on the emails to take care of your problem. You still need to speak with someone at the agency. I tried calling again yesterday 12 times and still couldn't get thru. So today I'll try again, even though the congressman's office said she can get me in next week 1 day before I'm supposed to leave on my trip.

[CB]

I will try the congressional route on Monday. I wanted to give it yet a few more days. As to getting your money back, who can even help with that? I have tried calling every number I can find and I am lost in "automated land" I even found a local number to the local passport office in Houston and even that was automated. It would be great to talk to a live person who can actually help.

[Brenda W]

Update, I just tried telephoning the PP agency again for status-called 5 times on hold 5th time for 40 minutes, then was disconnected. So I called back, on hold for 1 hr, 30 minutes, and disconnected again. Then the rep from congressman's office called to say she had spoke with the NH agency and they will fed ex my passport to me on Monday for Tuesday 15th delivery. I am supposed to leave May 16th at 6:30 a.m. for the airport. I finally broke down at this frustration. So now if I don't get it on Tues. I'm basically out all the money for mine and my granddaughter's trip plus all the other $ I put out to get ready for this trip, this is fast becoming the trip from hell.

[Vitali]

2 Brenda W:

I was in your situation and did not get my passport in time. They give you a hope upgrading to fed ex next day shipping, setting high priority etc. but do nothing: "Thank you for submitting your passport application! It is currently being processed." I don't see any way to speed up the processing. Perhaps the commercial services with "special relations" will help.