When a U.S. citizen needs a passport, whether their first one or a renewal, they usually do it via the U.S. Postal Service. The USPS now even has hours when you can make an appointment to get your application done and everything sent out.
When I sent my passport application last summer
If you want to renew your passport, you can even now do it online – but you better be quick!
If you need it fast
But let’s say you need your passport quickly – like a life-or-death emergency where you need your passport RIGHT NOW, or you “just” have an urgent need, where you’re going to travel to a foreign country within the next 14 calendar days (or need a foreign visa in the next 28 calendar days). The State Department currently has 26 offices scattered across the country where you can call, make an appointment and go to get your passport quickly:
- Atlanta, GA
- Aurora, CO
- Boston, MA
- Buffalo, NY
- Chicago, IL
- Dallas, TX
- Detroit, MI
- El Paso, TX
- Honolulu, HI
- Hot Springs, AR
- Houston, TX
- Los Angeles, CA
- Miami, FL
- Minneapolis, MN
- New Orleans, LA
- New York, NY
- Philadelphia, PA
- Portsmouth, NH
- San Diego, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- San Juan, PR
- Seattle, WA
- St. Albans, VT
- Stamford, CT
- Tucson, AZ
- Washington, DC
What they offer
These full-service centers, run by the State Department, offer the following services:
- Regular service: first-time passports and renewal
- Lost/stolen passport replacement
- Fast-Track Service: expedited processing for people with urgent travel needs (read: you can get your passport within 14 days, for an additional fee)
- Same-Day Issuance: It’s not guaranteed, but the agency offers the possibility of walking out with a passport on the day you apply
6 upcoming new locations
However, more and more people are traveling internationally. In 1990, only 5% of Americans had a passport. Today? 48%. To better serve the growing number of Americans seeking U.S. passports, the Department is planning to open six new passport agencies that will be able to offer up to same-day service. They will be located in:
- Charlotte, NC
- Cincinnati, OH
- Kansas City, MO
- Orlando, FL
- Salt Lake City, UT
- San Antonio, TX
When will they open?
My husband and I live in Orlando, and several of our local publications, both hard copy and online, reported extensively about it. U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando, also announced about the upcoming new passport agency in a news conference Tuesday.
Frost said the U.S. General Services Administration may take up to a year to determine where the office will go in Orlando. Based on news reports from publications in some of the other five cities (Salt Lake Tribune, Charlotte News & Observer, etc.), it appears they don’t know where their offices will be yet, either.
But they’re coming!
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