Passport emergency!

October 5, 2007 7:52 PM

Passport emergency! My passport expires in February but I've got two international trips ahead of me.

In one month I'm going to be in Peru and at the end of December I'll be in Germany. Previously I was told that the closeness of the expiration date of my passport wasnt a big deal. That turned out to not be true. It turns out that the Germans wont let me into the country with a soon to expire passport and no one is sure about the Peruvians.

I see two choices:

1. Renew now and take a chance on missing/rescheduling Peru.

2. Try to go to Peru and renew when I get back.

Option one leaves me 4 weeks to get a renewal. Is this possible with the recent craziness at the passport office? Or should I attempt to go to Peru and hope they dont care too much?

I'm leaning towards number one and applying tomorrow morning.

posted by skallas to travel & transportation (15 comments total)

Apply tomorrow morning, and spend the extra $60 to get it expedited. It should take 3 weeks or less to get to you.
posted by MiaWallace at 7:55 PM on October 5, 2007

Oops, forgot to add- saw a couple news items recently saying the passport office craziness has subsided significantly in the past couple of months (don't have any links offhand, but Google News will have the info). You should be all set if you go expedited.
posted by MiaWallace at 8:00 PM on October 5, 2007

Google Search = expedited passport renewal

Some sites claim to be able to renew in as little as 24 hours, but you can get it done in 7-12 days for $79 plus government fees.
posted by B(oYo)BIES at 8:00 PM on October 5, 2007

You can get it done really fast here in D.C. at the passport agency. You'll pay, but it can be done easy.
posted by Ironmouth at 8:17 PM on October 5, 2007

I just went through this. My passport was to expire in December, but I'm heading out to Europe on Sunday. I'd been told that it was a risk to travel with a passport that had under six months on it and so in mid August I sent in an application and paid to have it expedited. I received it a week ago, so basically "expedited" means "6-7 weeks" and no idea what "unexpedited" would look like.

I'd suggest biting the bullet and getting a new passport ASAP, and paying the extra $60 for "expedited" 'cause nothing would suck more than having a trip sent sideways because your paperwork is not in order.

If you acted now for your Peru trip, you should be fine. If you have proof of travel with a date attached to it I bet you'd move to the front of the line.

Oh, and the bonus is that your new passport comes with a fun RFID chip and renderings of Americana on every page.
posted by donovan at 10:10 PM on October 5, 2007

Mr. Padraigin got an expedited passport within three weeks, not sure if that was helped by the fact that we live in the Bay Area where there's a passport office.
posted by padraigin at 10:22 PM on October 5, 2007

Also, when you apply, they ask you when your planned travel date is. I assume this means they will take your travel needs into account. (But this may be expecting too much.)

And I agree - everything I've seen says expedited should be around three weeks. (Mine took 2 1/2 weeks, and that was only this past August '07)
posted by parma at 12:21 AM on October 6, 2007

The State.gov article (How to Get Your Passport in a Hurry) says that "After you apply - You will receive your passport: Normally, it takes 2-3 weeks to receive your passport from the date you applied. If you haven’t received your passport and are traveling within the next 7 days, please contact the National Passport Information Center."
posted by B(oYo)BIES at 12:55 AM on October 6, 2007

Timatic says:

National U.S.A. (US) /Destination PERU (PE)

PERU (PE)

Passport required (recommended to be valid at least 6 months
on arrival).

Better get it now.
posted by grouse at 2:33 AM on October 6, 2007

I received my new (US) passport last week within a two week turnaround, using expedited processing and USPS priority mail on the outbound mailing (regular mail to get the passport back to me).

I was also once held at UK immigration and questioned for three hours because of a passport that expired in less than 6 months.

I say get the new passport now.

the bonus is that your new passport comes with a fun RFID chip and renderings of Americana on every page
Yes, it is an ugly thing on both counts.
posted by cocoagirl at 3:01 AM on October 6, 2007

I like the new renderings of Americana.
posted by grouse at 5:49 AM on October 6, 2007

We flew internationally in June. In March I renewed my passport (due to expire in June) and ordered my daughter a new passport. We paid to expedite. Mine came in a week (!), and my daughter's came in about a month. However, we did go to the big, major distribution center post office which had passport drop-in hours every day rather than going to our local post office which had passport hours only once a week by appointment; I imagine that had some effect.

It's almost certainly worth the $60 to expedite in peace of mind, even if it's not worth it in terms of actual time it takes to renew.
posted by leahwrenn at 5:50 AM on October 6, 2007

I just did this as well. I payed the extra $60, and got the new passport back within 7 days. Do it now, but don't stress. Either they've sorted out the problems, or the problems never applied to passport renewals.
posted by wyzewoman at 12:50 PM on October 6, 2007

If you live in NYC you can get your passport in a day. They don't like to tell you to do that...but I had to get a passport the day before I left on vacation and I got it renewed in 10 hrs. You pay the extra $60 expedite fee but nothing else crazy.
posted by Mr. Ugh at 12:44 PM on October 8, 2007

In 2005, I once had a passport replaced in eighteen hours at the State Department in DC (dropped off request at 4PM, picked up new passport the next day at 10AM). Avoided jeapordizing international trip plans--best $60 I've spent in a long, long time.
posted by soda pop at 6:28 PM on October 15, 2007