subject: What You May Wish To Know About Urgent U S Passport Procedures [print this page] Taking a look at procedures for obtaining an urgent passport reveals that there is, indeed, a way to get such a document and that it actually won't be all that hard. People, after all, are electing to travel more often and to more places around the world. Missing out on such travel, because of a passport that couldn't be produced in time, would be a real shame.
The first thing to understand when it comes to getting a passport quickly is that there are many express passport services companies doing business on the Internet. In addition, the US State Department, which runs the passport program, has a website set up to help. These can assist in getting a passport issued extremely quickly, so make use of them whenever possible.
It's most often the case that a simple expedited passport through the government can take from two to three weeks, which is still a bit lengthy. Expedited services through one of those businesses may help, though. If using the government, expect to make use of overnight delivery and other higher-cost services. Fortunately though, same-day passports can be obtained with just a little bit of work.
Urgent pasports that need to be obtained within a day or two are always easier to get if the person who needs it is willing to work closely with an expediting service or go directly to a regional passport processing center. There are 14 of them, with three in the Midwest (Chicago is the main one) and several on both coasts. New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC and Miami all feature centers.
The first thing one is going to need to do to get an urgent passport, outside of working with an expediter service, is to make an appointment at one of the regional processing centers. This is done by calling a toll-free government number to schedule the appointment. It's always advised to make the appointment as early in the day as possible, because processing can take from three to five hours.
Keep in mind, as well, that none of these centers are set up to take passport photographs. However, there are many US post offices, as well as private businesses that can take these small photos. Showing up without photographs can jeopardize the processing of one of these short-notice passports for several days, which is a point well worth remembering.
As well, when trying to obtain a quick-issue passport never show up without proof of citizenship and identification. Homeland security regulations require that passport centers determine definitive proof of citizenship. This usually means producing an already-issued passport or an official birth certificate that has a raised seal on it. Check the State Department website for more information.
