Re: Passport Delays
 

Oh wow that is a fast turn around, you are soooo lucky, right now I'm so scared that I will have to cancel my trip to go back to London, I called care line on Monday and they told me that they are putting my info in the system. So I just called them again and m passport hasn't moved they are still put me in the system. Really!!! it takes a week to update my information in their computer! It really isn't a first come first serve basis. Anyway sorry didn't mean to rain on your joy, congratulations, hope I will be posting my joys soon. Hope we all will.

Re: Passport Delays
 

Hello

This is the first time I am posting. I just like reading these forums, but decided to post.

I sent my passport for a renewal as I was running out of pages. I still had two years left on it.

Sent by Fed-Ex: 3rd August, 2011
Received by Embassy in Washington: 4th August 2011
Credit Card charged: 8th August 2011

I have not received my passport yet, but I noticed in a lot of posts people's credit cards were being charged much later than when the documents were received. My card was charged in two business days of my documents being received by the embassy, given it was received just before a weekend. I realise the credit card gets charged first, but it seems like this part of the process was quick. I am hoping it will be the same for the actual receipt of my passport.

I will keep you posted on when I receive my new passport.

Re: Passport Delays
 

Welcome to BE.

Thanks for adding to the "Passports Timeline" and for joining. I hope you will stick around. :)

Re: Passport Delays
 

I've been following this thread for months, trying to work out if I'd have a window of opportunity to renew my passport this year as I cross the borders within North America fairly frequently, hard to find a long enough stay in one country. I finally took the gamble in mid July.

I can now report back: received my new (renewal) passport today! Only 32 days after sending it.

My timeline:

Sent old passport and application express post from Vancouver Island, Canada on July 15 (not long after the Canadian postal strike ended).

Package was received at Washington DC on July 21 (6 days later). Credit card charged on Aug 4 (day 20, 14 days after receipt).

New passport sent UPS from Washington DC yesterday Aug 15 at 3pm (day 31, 25 days after receipt, 11 days after credit card processed). Passport issue date also Aug 15.

Passport arrived 11am at my address in Vancouver Island, Canada (less than 24 hours after being sent from Washington).

I didn't have to call the Careline at all (I was going to give it another week - 5 weeks from sending it - and then start chasing them). I didn't get any email notifying me it was on the way, it was a VERY nice surprise.

So it looks like they've basically caught up the backlog for new renewals - or I was very lucky!

Rob

Re: Passport Delays
 

You was just lucky, I'm having an extremely hard time with the passport office. I call last week Monday to the careline and they told me it's at the data entry section. I called today and it's at the same place. so after 4 esclations lathers to dc and at least 6 calls to the careline my passport has not bugged. I don't get it! Is there any way that my passport has progressed but careline informations hasn't been updated in their system yet? I dunno guess I'm just hanging onto hope.

Credit card charges 27h June and I was for a name change as well as. Lost/renewal passport. But I had my old passport number that I had written on the form.....

I wanted to know does anyone know if I could go to the passport office in dc and inquire about my passport and wait for it?

Re: Passport Delays
 

Sounds like they are catching up. I decided to go ahead and renew my son's passport - at the time there was around 14 weeks to go til the trip to England (son has a US passport too, and I was earlier reassured on this forum that he could travel on that).

There was a slight delay because I forgot to authorise bank to allow them to take out the fee. The chap I spoke to on careline was quite friendly (I made an enquiry to make sure that they would try again).

It arrived with 7 weeks to go - therefore a 7 week turnaround :thumbup:

Re: Passport Delays
 

Another Newbie here.

Well, they've definitely sped up the money collection at least. My timeline, so far:

Passport Sent: Aug 6th
Received in DC: Aug 7th
CC Charged: Aug 13th

So fingers crossed it won't be such a long wait.......I'll let you know. :fingerscrossed:

Re: Passport Delays
 

Hellooooo.... Can anyone please answer or have a idea on my question.... Can I go to the passport office in dc and inquire about my passport and wait for it? Plus I've been calling the dc consulate and there is no answer. Has anyone ever got him on the phone?

Re: Passport Delays
 

Called the Embassy you mean? Embassy in DC, consulates elsewhere! Call him whom? You can call the Embassy, but it is unlikely you will be able to talk to anyone.

Re: Passport Delays
 

[QUOTE=BILDER;9564722]Called the Embassy you mean? Embassy in DC, consulates elsewhere! Call him whom? You can call the Embassy, but it is unlikely you will be able to talk to


I've been calling my local consulate for an emergency passport which is the dc location. So if I can't get the consulate on the phone how am I ment to make an appointment for and ETD????? Can I just go to my local consulate passport office and be seen by some one or is a appointment needed for entry in the building?

Re: Passport Delays
 

I'm so sorry... I was in the middle of surgery when your post arrived. I regret you had to wait so long for a response.

Then again, it just dawned on me how rude and impatient your post seems... so now I can't be arsed to respond futher.

I suggest a little patience in future... the members here are not your personal servants and should not be treated as your personal on-demand resource!

Ian

Re: Passport Delays
 

If my post came across rude I apologize, but I have been patient, and I did not treat any one as my servant. The fact that you have responded saying you can not be arsed to respond further was rude, and I feel that your post was distasteful. Once again if my post seemed rude I really do apologize, I did not mean for it to seem that way.

I won't be commenting on this tread anymore, I hope everyone that is still waiting for a passport gets it in time for travel, and for everyone that has received their passport congratulation again.
God bless.

Re: Passport Delays
 

You're only like to get an accurate response from somebody who has do this (applied an ETD), maybe nobody here has.

Having said that, I assume you have read:
http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/help-fo...s/short-notice

The key bit is "Passport applicants requesting emergency travel documentation are required to apply in person.". As you say, there's no indication of whether you should make an appointment, but given that it's for emergencies (and can, sometimes, be done out of hours) you should be OK just turning up - with the form (linked to on that page) already filled out (make sure you request a return ETD, listing every country).

Hopefully somebody who has actually done an ETD will respond, but unfortunately unless they do, all we can do is guess how it works from the published information.

Rob

Re: Passport Delays
 

Alternatively, they could search out this thread and read the other passport stickied threads, which cover the ETD in a fair bit of info from folks going through it as well as from Dean, the Consul at Orlando.

Re: Passport Delays
 

Thank you for your replys. I will just show up at the embassy. Thanks again

Re: Passport Delays
 

[QUOTE=sammymummy;9564811]Please be more patient. I think you meant that you called the Embassy in Washington D.C. Others here have explained the difference between Embassy and Consulate, so I won't bother to do so. Try this # (202) 588 7800.
Once again, please be patient. The other members here have no control over your passport so there is no point getting upset with them

Re: Passport Delays
 

Thanks. That is the number I have been trying to call. Careline told me that I will be able to speak with some when calling that number. Anyway I made the trip to dc, so I will find out what's going on in the morning when they open at 8.

By the way I wasn't upset with not getting answers or anything, I was upset that a member on here felt he had the right to speak to me the way he did. If he had a issuse he could have private messaged me. Once again I apologize if my message seemed rude or inpatient, but I think the way he delt with it was rude and belittling. Thank you for writing me back with a level of maturity.

Re: Passport Delays
 

Give or take a few days we are on a similar timeline.

Sent passport for renewal, with 8 months still to go on it, by UPS
on 10 August. It arrived in DC 11 August. Card debited on 14 August. Card debit was very prompt and raised my hopes. I am hoping the Embassy has got over the hump of the no doubt numerous applications at the start of the vacation season. Currently should be a bit calmer.

Re: Passport Delays
 

.........Just an update on this. I recieved my new passport this morning, which is 4 weeks and 4 days since my credit card was charged, and exactly 8 weeks since my application was recieved.

I made no phone calls to the care line.

Re: Passport Delays
 

I received my passport today. It only took over 10 phone calls to careline, 4 escalations and a 4hr drive to dc to speak to the lovely guy at the passport office, who took my info and walked it down to the processing depart. I received my passport the next morning. (Today). So I'm happy no cancelled trip or having to pay $175. For an ETD. Good luck to everyone else waiting and be presistant, cause the passport guy told me that some cases get pushed to the bottom of the file if its more than a renewal. Which that's what happened to me.
But anyway good luck and if dc isn't that bad of a drive, and you need to travel ASAP. I suggest to make the drive, its worth it.

Re: Passport Delays
 

Excellent. Glad to hear it all worked out for you. :)

Ian

Re: Passport Delays
 

I'm not trusting these incompetents with my renewal. The only time I renewed my passport outside the U.K. was with the Ottawa embassy 9 years ago. They lost track of the new passport after it was processed(eventually was found and sent to me),lost the old passport and my long form British birth certificate(I have no idea why they wanted it in the first place on a renewal)which were never returned. So much for security in these days of identity theft. I'm going to go the renewing it in the UK route and pay the extra for the in person Premium same day service.

Re: Passport Delays
 

Things may be changing in Washington. I sent my wife's new passport application off from Vancouver on July13th. It arrived July 14th in Washington, credit card debited August 2nd, passport arrived today. It took only 3 1/2 weeks.

I only hope the spousal visa is as quick!!

Re: Passport Delays
 

Things have definitely improved with PP processing in DC. I got my renewal PP today, after UPS tried to deliver yesterday.:eek:

Following my first post on the subject back in the midst of "the troubles", here's my timeline -

July 6 - Sent renewal application to DC
July 8 - Arrived in DC
July 26 - Payment taken
August 10 - Called Careline, was told 8 weeks from payment
August 17 - PP Dispatched by UPS from DC
August 30 - UPS attempt delivery
August 31 - Collected PP from UPS Store

Good luck to those still waiting

Re: Passport Delays
 

It's great to hear that things are moving faster now. Pity they couldn't have figured it out BEFORE the summer holidays started. Hopefully they've learned for next year......hopefully

Re: Passport Delays
 

Hopefully they won't be in the middle of moving the processing centre back to the UK next summer :/

Re: Passport Delays
 

Hello everyone. This is my first time posting, but I've been reading the forums and they have been a great help.

Here's my time line for my first UK passport application (dual citizen):
May 30: sent application via FedEx
May 31: Tracking Info Says package delivered.
June 30: Application Fee Charged (30 days later)
Aug 10: Requested a Declaration of Marriage document to be filled out by my parents
Aug 15: Parents finally got around to sending in the Declaration of Marriage Document
Aug 30: UPS attempted delivery
Aug 31: I picked up the passport at the UPS facility

A couple of notes: I don't remember seeing the Declaration of Marriage document (which is different from my parents' Marriage License that I had sent in) being a requirement when I looked at the fco website back in April and May while I was collecting my documents - in fact the website seemed a little bit disorganized. The current website (http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/help-fo...port-documents) is now quite good.

All in all, it took 3 months from submission to receive my passport, one month too late for my travel to the UK - but it turned out ok since I had my US passport. Had I known back in May that the passport office was so delayed I would have waited to submit my application so help lighten their load.

Re: Passport Delays
 

My timeline:

Jul 16 - Passport Application mailed
Jul 18 - Arrived at Embassy
Aug 11 - Credit Card charged
Sep 9 - New Passport arrived

Just over 7 weeks, which doesn't seem too bad to me.

Re: Passport Delays
 

Hello, this is my first (and perhaps only, for another 10 years!) post. I've been following others' sagas with passport renewal this summer, and with some dread sent off my hubby's passport for renewal in August. It arrived back today, hurrah! :thumbsup:

Here is our timeline:

3 Aug 2011 - shipped passport to Washington by fedex 3 day
10 Aug 2011 - CC charged
7 Sept 2011 - passport received by UPS next day.

We did not call careline or indicate any need for rapid turnover.

Best of luck to those of you still waiting!

-pink n' co

Re: Passport Delays
 

Passport sent UPS 10 August
Arrived DC 11 August
CC debited 14 August

Passport arrived today, 9 September.

That's 22 working days including date of arrival in DC. Twas a simple renewal but passport had 8 months validity on it. I made no special requests neither did I ring.

Re: Passport Delays
 

Hey Folks,

The timeline for my passport renewal and my son's first application.

4 Aug 2011: Mailed application ("Expedited Parcel - USA") from Ottawa
9 Aug 2011: Canada Post / US Postal Service loses track of package. I start pulling my hair out and chanting "UPS, UPS, why didn't I send this by UPS?"
17 Aug 2011: Still no record of the package being delivered to UK Embassy in Washington. Canada Post agrees to start trace.
19 Aug 2011: Credit Card charged by UK Embassy ("Thank God!")
9 Sep 2011: Passports issued
13 Sep 2011: Passports arrive - by UPS!

According to Canada Post, the application still hasn't arrived at the UK Embassy!

Moral of the story: send by courier!

(Didn't make any calls to the Careline or to the Embassy etc)

Cheers
P

Re: Passport Delays
 

Newbie here.Reading through all the posts does it seem that the service is improving? Has anyone used a courier service?and if so did it speed up the process? Just mailed off my application for renewal Sept 19th by priority Fed Ex which is to arrive sept 20th.Travel date is Oct 25th what do you think my chances are? or will I end up with emergency travel? Just paid $175.00 for the courier service Would be interested in replies Thanks all and hope all your passports arrive promptly:):):fingerscrossed:

Re: Passport Delays
 

With only a month's lead time... 50/50. Did you just realize your passport needed renewing? One month - even at the best of times, generally isn't sufficient lead time for processing.


Possibly - there's no way to know ahead of time.


I think you just wasted $175. Getting the passport application submitted isn't a problem - it's that there are probably hundreds of applications ahead of you... and they'll be worked on prior to yours.

Good luck... but don't get your hopes up.

Ian

Re: Passport Delays
 

Well I just didn't realise passport had expired.Thankfully I had some time to renew I hope I haven't wasted mony on the courier sevice maybe they can expidite it quicker or are able to get some info saving me from calling careline will keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best

Re: Passport Delays
 

It's getting faster...

Shipped Fedex overnight - September 2nd
Confirmed arrival Washington DC -September 6th (after Labor Day holiday)
Credit Card payment charged - September 9th
New passport received - September 21st

Total turnaround - 15 days from arrival in DC.

This was for a renewal. As an FYI, they accepted the "American sized" photos without a problem.

Re: Passport Delays
 

Thank you so much for your post this gives me hope that I'll get my passport on time:thumbsup:

Re: Passport Delays
 

My new passport arrived back to Nova Scotia today. Just a regular renewal.

My old passport and application arrived in Washington on Thursday, September 8th. (It took over 3 weeks with Canada Post, they've since refunded the postage!) However........

Credit card was actioned on Tuesday, September 13th.

Mailed by them on September 15th. UPS Saver Rate.

Arrived this morning, September, 26th.

Looks like the service is all it should be now....:fingerscrossed:

Re: Passport Delays
 

Looks like the Summer rush is over!

My application included three passport renewals (2 adults and 1 child) and one first time application (1 child born in Canada).

Sent Expresspost (2-3 days) with Canada Post - September 6th.
Confirmed arrival Washington DC - September 9th.
Credit card charged - September 15th.
New passports arrived - September 26th.

Total turnaround - 17 days from arrival in DC.

Re: Passport Delays
 

Does anybody know if you can travel to Europe from UK without a passport,but useing new style drivers licence with photo as ID ?

Re: Passport Delays
 

Last time I checked, the UK was in Europe. What driver's license are you using? A US/Canadian EDL or what? You need to prove your citizenship.