How long to get passport ?

A

AmIinTrouble

Registered Users (C)
Ok, I applied for my passport last week 04/18/2008. I was told, it can take 4-5 week for the regular route and 3 weeks for expedited one. So I went the fast route. I checked my application status today and it says on the web site, they are done processing my passport and it is in the mail.

Are they kidding me or what !!
 
I know a person who got the passport in hand on 7th day after signing the app in post office. I even know a person who got non expedited passport in 10 days. They have improved a lot. Unlike Indian consulate for OCI apps :(
 
I applied for my passport last Friday 04/18/2008 at the local post office, and got it back priority mail today, Friday, 04/25/2008 - in 7 days flat, that too for normal processing by normal mail (not expedited processing & express mail).

I hope GOI-OCI folks take the cue from the US State Department Passport folks. Very simple and straightforward process, clear instructions, excellent web & email updates, excellent customer service over phone - all for about $100 !!
 
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AmIinTrouble said:
Ok, I applied for my passport last week 04/18/2008. I was told, it can take 4-5 week for the regular route and 3 weeks for expedited one. So I went the fast route. I checked my application status today and it says on the web site, they are done processing my passport and it is in the mail.

Are they kidding me or what !!
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Awesome! They told me 3 weeks too for expedited. Unfortunately I do not show up on the online system, so I called and they said oh yeah you just popped up in our system today you are not processed yet, call back next week.
 
ravi1985 said:
I applied for my passport last Friday 04/18/2008 at the local post office, and got it back priority mail today, Friday, 04/25/2008 - in 7 days flat, that too for normal processing by normal mail (not expedited processing & express mail).

I hope GOI-OCI folks take the cue from the US State Department Passport folks. Very simple and straightforward process, clear instructions, excellent web & email updates, excellent customer service over phone - all for about $100 !!
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They are fast!! I got my passport and my NAT cert back today too 4/25/2008. Seven days and lol, I paid $60 more than you. Who are the GOI-OCI folks you are talking about ?

Oh well.
 
GOI-OCI is Government of India - Ministry of Home Affairs - Overseas Citizenship of India. OCI registration gives lifetime visa privileges to people of Indian origin who have taken up US citizenship.
 
ravi1985 said:
GOI-OCI is Government of India - Ministry of Home Affairs - Overseas Citizenship of India. OCI registration gives lifetime visa privileges to people of Indian origin who have taken up US citizenship.
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Ok. I guess I should apply for it too.

Why do they make it so complicated. Part A, Part B wtf? And it could take one to four months!!
 
I applied for my passport last Friday 04/18/2008 at the local post office, and got it back priority mail today, Friday, 04/25/2008 - in 7 days flat, that too for normal processing by normal mail (not expedited processing & express mail).

I hope GOI-OCI folks take the cue from the US State Department Passport folks. Very simple and straightforward process, clear instructions, excellent web & email updates, excellent customer service over phone - all for about $100 !!
Click to expand...

The State dept seems fairly efficient of late with passport processing. Received mine in 7 days as well, opting for regular processing.

With regards to GOI-OCI reference.. it takes two to tango. Yeah GOI could take a cue, but experience suggests most of us hardly seem willing to give GOI the benefit of the doubt. They prolly need the 1-4 month time to refer OCI applications to the Indian Home Ministry for background checks.. similar to DHS FBI checks. Some may recall the issues the St Dept went thru couple of summers ago during a months long wait to get a new US passport.. led to congressional hearings. I reckon us Desis are quick off our feet to protest GOI delays, but accept US Govt processing waits as "cost of doing business". With appropriate documentation in tow, I've found Indian consular services to be quite efficient.
 
1AurCitizen said:
With regards to GOI-OCI reference.. it takes two to tango. Yeah GOI could take a cue, but experience suggests most of us hardly seem willing to give GOI the benefit of the doubt. They prolly need the 1-4 month time to refer OCI applications to the Indian Home Ministry for background checks.. similar to DHS FBI checks.
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Though I agree in principal, for us, it took Houston consulate 9 weeks to enter the application in the system. This is what they need to improve on. I understand that it can take longer for background check but this is before that check. BTW, in Sep 2007 , it used to take Home ministry in India less than a week to complete the check.

Once the app is approved, it takes Houston consulate 3 weeks to stamp your passport and send it to you. If you walk in, they can do it the same day. So it means this process of printing OCI stamp in US passport is not that time consuming (If it can be done same day for many people) Still it takes them 3 weeks when you mail them.

I am not saying it is all fault of consulate, may be they need more people, may be they need to use better technology or more training etc. The end result is, it takes long time when it can be done sooner.

For that matter, if you compare, number of US passport applications were approaching hundreds of thousands. (Not in 2-3k range as they are for OCI)

People also complain when US depts cause delay and problems. See all the boards on this forum. Except some questions, most are complaints about their handling of either GC or citizenship processing. :)
 
The USPS status shows 'item delivered' with the tracking no. provided by the U.S. Passport Application Status website.

I received only the naturalization certificate and not the passport itself. I understand that they could be mailed separately.

The National Passport Information Center could not confirm if the tracking number provided was for the actual passport or just the certificate.

Anyone faced a similar situation ? Thanks.

====
 
Can folks who applied for US passport recently share their timelines??

Hi Folks
I am going to get my Oath and Nat. certificate tomorrow. Have to get a US passport, and then PIO/OCI to be able to go to India sometime around last week of June, 1st week of July.
Can people who applied for US passport recently share their timelines, with and without expedited processing?
Btw how long does passport application at SF passport agency take? i have not bought the tickets yet.
Thanks & Regards
nitinkrsri
 
nitinkrsri said:
Hi Folks
I am going to get my Oath and Nat. certificate tomorrow. Have to get a US passport, and then PIO/OCI to be able to go to India sometime around last week of June, 1st week of July.
Can people who applied for US passport recently share their timelines, with and without expedited processing?
Btw how long does passport application at SF passport agency take? i have not bought the tickets yet.
Thanks & Regards
nitinkrsri
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I applied for my U.S. Passport on May 2 (regular processing) and got it back with the Certificate on May 13 :)
 
Due to the fast processing times in this forum (and the 6-day estimate from the passport rep at my citizenship oath), I went the expedite route instead of the in-person app.

I'm getting a bit worried since I have a trip soon, and the passport is taking longer than others....

The Post Office acceptance rep was a trainee, hope he didn't mess things up. My passport was mailed to po box 90911 (not the addresses on the mail-in app). No "expedite" was written on it. Anyone know if this is the correct location/procedure for the post offices? Any May 8 or later applicants have their passports either returned, or posted on the status site yet?

I'm going to call the passport info center on Monday.

5/8/2008 - Citizenship Oath
5/8/2008 - Passport applied (at post office, expedite with overnight round trip mail)
5/9/2008 - USPS delivery confirmation (received 11 am)
5/17/2008 - still listed as "not found" on passport web site
...
5/26/2008 - flying out of the country
 
Last edited by a moderator:
nitinkrsri said:
Hi Folks
I am going to get my Oath and Nat. certificate tomorrow. Have to get a US passport, and then PIO/OCI to be able to go to India sometime around last week of June, 1st week of July.
Can people who applied for US passport recently share their timelines, with and without expedited processing?
Btw how long does passport application at SF passport agency take? i have not bought the tickets yet.
Thanks & Regards
nitinkrsri
Click to expand...

I applied on friday afternoon at sf agency and ready for the pickup by tuesday morning.
 
Just FYI, I applied for my passport (regular service, regular mail) on 5/7/08 and received passport + naturalization certificate (in two separate envelopes from the same address in NH) on 5/16/08.
 
For those who received their passports, did the status change from "not found" to "sent out" on the same day? Or was there a delay where the web site said "in process"? If so, how long was the delay?

-ML

5/8/2008 - Citizenship Oath
5/8/2008 - Passport applied (at post office, expedite with overnight round trip mail)
5/9/2008 - USPS delivery confirmation (received 11 am)
5/18/2008 - still listed as "not found" on passport web site
...
5/26/2008 - flying out of the country
 
FYI for others: the 800 number had info on my passport, even though the web site said "not received".

Per the 800 number, the application was forwarded to the Boston office to be worked on. This local office processing step seems strange (I thought passport processing was centralized). Maybe I applied too soon after citizenship and the citizenship was not yet logged in the passport systems.

-ML

5/8/2008 - Citizenship Oath
5/8/2008 - Passport applied (at post office, expedite with overnight round trip mail)
5/9/2008 - USPS delivery confirmation (received 11 am)
5/14/2008 - application was forwarded to Boston office (per 800#)
5/19/2008 - still listed as "not found" on passport web site
5/22/2008 - expected receipt of passport (per 800#)
...
5/26/2008 - flying out of the country for vacation
 
ml_boston said:
FYI for others: the 800 number had info on my passport, even though the web site said "not received".

Per the 800 number, the application was forwarded to the Boston office to be worked on. This local office processing step seems strange (I thought passport processing was centralized). Maybe I applied too soon after citizenship and the citizenship was not yet logged in the passport systems.
-ML
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They may have multiple office to process and a central office to print the passport. The check with USCIS will be started by Passport office (I doubt USCIS updates all govt departments about our status after citizenship but all departments when they need to verify, probably contact USCIS to get the details)
Enjoy your vacation as US citizen :) Going someplace where you don't need visa anymore? I still have not used passport for such a travel.
 
ml_boston said:
For those who received their passports, did the status change from "not found" to "sent out" on the same day? Or was there a delay where the web site said "in process"? If so, how long was the delay?
Click to expand...

There was about a day in between the website status changing from "not found" to "sent out." I won't call it a "delay" because it happened 4 weeks earlier than they said it would. :p
 
I got the passport today. Strange that it still shows as "not found" on the website.

-ML

5/8/2008 - Citizenship Oath
5/8/2008 - Passport applied (at post office, expedite with overnight round trip mail)
5/9/2008 - USPS delivery confirmation (received 11 am)
5/14/2008 - application was forwarded to Boston office (per 800#)
5/21/2008 - passport and naturaliztion certificate received
5/21/2008 - still listed as "not found" on passport web site
5/26/2008 - flying out of the country for vacation
 
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