What To Know About Getting A Priority Passport

by erin on April 29, 2010

What to know about getting a priority passport will involve a realization that it is, indeed, imminently possible to do so, though a bit of legwork – and the expenditure of money – will be necessary. In the first place, almost everyone who needs a passport issued on priority chooses to work with an expediting service. However, the US government also can assist in this matter.

Understand that it can be a bit difficult to get a passport issued in a hurry. Normally, even expedited passports run through one of 14 different processing centers spread around the United States can take anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks. And that includes paying the additional $60 fee plus the fees for overnight delivery to and from one of those processing centers.

This is why those who require a quick-issuance passport on a compressed timeline normally make use of express handling companies. But, when the use of one of those companies just isn’t in the cards, there are ways to get passports on a priority basis from the government itself. Of course, this is going to mean travel to one of several different regional passport centers in order to pull it off, so keep that in mind.

For those who won’t be using expediting services offered by a business, the first place to go is the State Department website, travel or passport section. In actuality, it really isn’t that involved to get a passport issued quickly, but keep in mind the several steps that are going to be supplied here in order to make it all come together in as painless a manner as possible.

The first thing to remember is that nothing that has to do with passports and the US government can be done without an appointment. There’s a toll-free number that can be found at the State Department passport section website. Making an appointment for passports to be issued on a priority basis will usually mean making an appointment at one of those regional centers, by the way.

There are centers on both coasts and in the Midwest, 14 of them in total. Large centers are located, for purposes of information, in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Boston, New York and Washington DC. Traveling to one of them is going to be necessary if the passport is to be issued on the same day as application. It’ll also take anywhere from 3 to 5 hours to make it happen.

Also, remember that anything that’s going to be produced in a hurry is going to require the payment of much higher fees. Right now, expect to pay anywhere from $200 to $300, just in fees paid to the government, to get a passport issued extremely quickly. If any research on identity and citizenship has to be done at the center, it’s going to cost another $60 to do so.

Always try to make an appointment for as early in the day as possible, always show up with passport photos (most centers don’t take photos) and always appear with proof of citizenship and identity. Expect to pay up to $300 in fees to obtain priority passports, as well. If all of those items can be addressed, it’s very possible that a passport can, indeed, be issued on the same day.

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