mcphopkins

Wellll.....

We have called the Careline and they say they will contact us within 3 days. From what I've seen on this forum, that is sometimes not true. I am really worried. We are set to travel on June 25. I know we have some time, but when you take into account the weekends and days when UPS doesn't deliver or Washington is closed, it's not that much time.

The Careline said my husband's passport is being "examined". Why has it taken since May 5th, when our credit card was charged, to examine a passport? We sent the application in on the 28th of March!!!!!

We told the nice lady on the phone, though, that we are set to leave for Peru on the 25th and hope that we can some how get it expedited.. We will pay extra at this point!!! Although, really, it shouldn't take this long to begin with.:-\ We also need the new passport for our I-751 to remove conditions on my husband's green card as we are within the 90 day window. UGH! I hate this! I just wish it would come. Thanks to Dean for helping folks like us out..

PS Dean, if you are reading this, we now have a case number, should you need that. I don't know how these things work.

Timeline:
Sent- Mar 28
Received in DC - April 1
CC Charged May 5
Passport Received in FL: ???? Not Yet!!!

Date of travel: June 25.... 19 days! Ahhh!

StephieFaith83

My credit card still hasn't been charged @ 5 weeks.

StephieFaith83

And why do you need a passport to remove conditions on a Green Card?

That's news to me...

mcphopkins

I thought we had to do it last time for ID purposes? I don't think we have a copy of his old passport anymore because we knew we had to get a new one. It's been 2 years so I need to go over the form again... but, maybe that will help get the ball rolling on DC's end.

StephieFaith83

You send them a copy of his Permanent Resident Card, they have all the ID info from when you did the AOS...

Maybe it will, but I doubt it. Each passport is as important as the next to them.

I am getting a little narked with the service though, so I will be writing a detailed complaint letter and sending it real soon.

mcphopkins

Yes.. This is really upsetting. We have been planning our trip since last November.

Jerseygirl

Ask in the US Marriage Visa forum...

ian-mstm

Well then... how long do you think it should take? What's reasonable? If someone thinks a longer timeline is reasonable should that be taken into consideration? Should that duration be uniform for all people? How important is it that national security be considered when processing a passport? What repartations should be made if a passport is processed outside of that time? What would you do to make things better?


No, you don't.

Ian

mcphopkins

Whew! Wow i am just looking for help, not to be interrogated. When I renewed my US passport, I sent it, made a call to get it expedited and ta-dah it arrived in 5 days after my phone call. Hopefully that will happen in my husband's case. We have already paid enough money for him to stay here, it shouldn't be such a hassle to allow him to leave for a vacation. If i knew that the timeline was 4 weeks after credit card processing when we mailed the renewal application, we would have done it long before now. I'm just venting to people I thought may understand our situation. Forgive me, I'm a kindergarten teacher so this stress on top of finishing up at the end of the school year is making me need a release!

Anyone have any luck with getting answers via a consulate? We live 1.5 hours from Orlando.. I didn't know if making a visit there could help anything.

StephieFaith83

The time it's taking has nothing to do with the US, it's a UK Embassy.

It's always going to be easier to renew a passport in your own country, and it does state clearly on their website that the processing times are for AFTER the payment has been taken.

People aren't interrogating you, they're just give you correct information.

It's definitely not the ideal situation right now, for a ton of people. My vacation (main one) is in October but it's possible I may need my passport over the Summer so I'm getting a bit panicked.

The Careline is completely useless, don't waste your money.

If you really want to try and expedite the process you're going to need to write a letter of complaint to the Embassy.

FredCDobbs

I called the so-called Careline on Sunday and a pleasant Scottish chap promised they'd call me back on Monday -- even confirmed my telephone number. It's Tuesday and still no call.

To recap my timeline: Application submitted February 26, credit card charged March 23, still no passport by June 7. Due to travel tomorrow evening. It's an ordinary, routine application.

If it doesn't arrive tomorrow, I'll contact my credit card company and contest the charges, same as I'd do in any other situation where a vendor charges a customer's credit card and fails to deliver the promised item.

The whole situation is an absolute disgrace. Can you imagine any other service provider or merchant collecting money from customers, failing to deliver the goods or service in a timely manner as advertised, and then deliberately isolating themselves so that customers cannot complain or inquire about what is going on UNLESS THEY ACTUALLY PAY MORE MONEY FOR THAT PRIVILEGE? It's bad enough that they have so many customers bewildered and angry at their lousy service that they actually need a call center to handle all the calls. But to require customers to PAY just in order to find out why the promised service isn't being provided is a total pisstake.

Jerseygirl

Pointless contacting the CC card company IMO if you want a UK PP. Sorry to hear it's taken so long though. Have you called the Careline number to find out what's happening with your PP?

Bob

You need to make an appointment, you can't just show up. Unless you're looking for a ETD, it probably won't help.

It sucks, but that's life. BIL's US passport renewal, in the US, took 10 weeks, so it can be just as rubbish here on home turf when things get busy.

Bob

Could do that.

Probably not a great idea though, while they have your old passport.

Better off writing a letter of complaint. Dean has provided info previously on who/where best to do this.

FredCDobbs

See my first paragraph. Careline said it shouldn't be taking so long, promised to call back next day and didn't. Ker-ching.

Maybe a class action on behalf of all customers who've been fleeced by the "Careline" scam is a better idea. Unless the bastards have diplomatic immunity.