What do you do if you need a passport in less than three weeks? Don’t shell out for one of those passport expediters, call your Member of Congress. They have these things called constituent liaisons, whose whole reason for existence is prodding other executive agencies. This is the number one way to get a passport quickly. Call the district office for your Congress Critter, which is the number that doesn’t start with 202. A list of Members of Congress can be found here. Another thing to try is paying the extra $60 at the USPS for expedited passport service. The best thing to do is, of course, apply early, but if for some reason that hasn’t happened, getting a hold of a constituent liaison is the way to go.
RELATED: How To Get Your Passport On Time
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I have no idea if this information is still correct, but I thought I might share anyways:
I needed to leave the US in under 3 days spring of 2001 (pre- 9/11..)
I was able to drive to Philadelphia, go to the Passport Control offices, pay an additional fee, wait around for a few hours and get my passport the SAME DAY.
Again, pre-9/11, YMMV, but worth a shot if all else fails.
@twophrasebark: No worries. Congressional staffers have a most excellent filtering device. If you have time to go through normal channels, they won’t do anything but tell you to go through the expedited route and call them back if it doesn’t work.
@mdoneil: You’d be surprised.
@Hanzo: Still works, but it’s only available in select major cities. For example, if you’re in Texas you have to go to Houston for the service.
I needed a passport on short notice in April 2007, back during the huge processing crush. I called my then-Congressman’s district office (Rep. Jerrold Nadler) and his employee told me that members of congress are no longer able to help with passport issuance. Apparently that’s not true. YMMV.
I got my passport in one week. No joke. I applied on a Friday and I received it the next day. No expediting or calling members of Congress.
I received the the FOLLOWING Friday, I should say.
I don’t find this article useful at all.
First of all, those liaisons have limited influence with the government – seperation of power. They can address their concern to the executive departments. But executive departments are only obligated to listen to their boss, the President. Such “help” is only on courtesy but nothing else.
Secondly, telling those guys just for expediting passports? I think it is better to tell them that how we disappoint with the consumer protection is this country. For such small job, I would rather pay $60. We should ask them to do something more important.
The most important is no one asks you to apply the passport in the last minute. You should have a sense that when do you need a passport and when you should apply for it.
@garykung: Respectfully Gary, my brother’s company requested him to travel unexpectedly. Second, Hoyer’s office didn’t do or plan to do anything abnormal, their plan was to help him get an appointment in DC or Philadelphia to get his passport processed in a day.
I think Ben’s article is useful – if you’re called unexpectedly to travel and can’t navigate the process without a little help, ask your rep or Senator. They’re not going to intercede unnecessarily, and if you really do need help, that’s what they’re there for (I think).
@JustThatGuy3:
It was only an extra $20 and the lady at the passport office said it was helpful when going out on the town and not having to lug the giant passport with you. Also an efficient way to have a backup.
I shelled out an extra $91 for expedited service ($60 fee plus overnight delivery costs), and they sent my new passport(and other sensitive, irreplaceable documentation) to the WRONG ADDRESS.
This despite having the correct address clearly stated 3 times on the application.
Good old USPS looked me up in the phone book, in order to deliver it.
I, too, got my passport recently in exactly one week. Applied on a Saturday; arrived the next Saturday. Sweet.
When I was in college, I took a political science class and the professor explained how one time he needed to go abroad for a conference and so he called Bob Dole’s office and was able to get a passport in less than a week.
Last year, replaced a LOST passport. Whole process took two weeks through the mail. Very impressed.
This year, wife had to renew her passport AND change her first name to a common usage name, which required affidavits and a bunch of other crap. She expidited, and this is how fast it happened:
State dept. received on Monday
Processed it on Tuesday
Overnighted it Wednesday
We received it Thursday
Four business day turnaround, including mailing.
I hate to say it, but that’s good government.
I just renewed my wife’s passport through the mail, no expedite on july 2nd and it came in the mail today, july 12th. 10 days no expedite.
I just paid the expedite fee at the post office and got it renewed in like ten days for an upcoming international work trip, so it appears the backlog bolus has worked its way through the system, no need to call yer critter.