Passport Renewal Absurdity (1 Viewer)

[Ron Swanson]

Anyone renewed a US Passport recently? I just had to renew mine and I can't believe this process exists in 2023. It seems so archaic. It seems like everything I've renewed in recent years is online just about 100%. Global Entry, CHL's, DL, etc. Passport? Nope.

1) Fill out renewal form online.
2) Print and sign form.
3) Take new picture
4) Print & crop picture
5) Write paper check. ($130 for passport, 11 week turnaround, and $60 for "expedited" time of 5 weeks).
6) Mail whole shebang along with old (not expired, still valid) passport.
7) Wait

Why can't this be done electronically? Printed forms and paper checks in 2023 are just absurd. And why do I have to mail a perfectly good passport that I won't have returned for at least a month? What if I need it? I know that they return it with a hole punched in it with my new passport but why bother with that step at all? Does the hole really make a difference? Isn't the fact that it expires good enough?

And $190 for this pleasure? Good grief, Department of State, get your act together and modernize this process. Please.

 

[Osaurus]

Thoughts, @Captain Cranks?

 

[Galileo]

We just renewed my kids' passports this past summer...had to mail off birth certificates as well.

 

[gianmarco]

6) Male hole she bang

:reported:

 

[AAABatteries]

6) Male hole she bang

:reported:

Figured that’s his go to search term.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

As luck would have it, I have all this stuff sitting on a desk waiting to be mailed in. It's been sitting there for weeks, because I'm too lazy to get an envelope, address it, and take it to the post office. But honestly, why do I have to do any of that in 2023?

When the government fails at some small but essential task, maybe inductive reasoning should cause us to question if it's performing well at larger and more complex tasks.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

We did our family of 4 a couple years ago at the post office. I didn’t think the red tape was all that terrible just because the bar is so low for a fed gov process, but the cost is ridiculous. Something like $600 to get my family set up with passports? It shouldn’t cost anything.

 

[ProstheticRGK]

6) Male hole she bang

:reported:

That’s why he needs his passport

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Post office

I’m not mailing birth certificates to anyone. Ever.

 

[NutterButter]

I would just go in person and have them take the photo there. I think that's what I did last time and I didn't have any issue with it. Sure its a little pricey, but what's a couple hundred bucks for something you need to buy every 10 years.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Just did my daughter‘s passport renewal and my drivers license renewal in the same week. i was absolutely floored at how smooth and easy both transactions were. In CA we have a new DL called real ID. It requires more paperwork than a passport. Two bills with your home address on it? Plus your old DL, a passport, annd insurance. Extremely dumb. Must be done in person. But you must upload all the documentation first. The DMV is a special hell hole.

anyway, called and made a same day appointment at the DMV. When I got there, they told me that wasn’t possible and I wasn’t in their system. Showed them my email confirmation. Voila! Woman who processed me through was smart, nice and efficient. It was shocking.

with the passport, my daughter and I stopped by the post office the day before our appointment, to make sure we had all our ducks in a row. And I’m glad we did, because I had no idea that I needed a check . Came back the next day, the guy could not have been nicer. In and out quickly. He said it would be 7-10 weeks

 

[Sand]

Anyone renewed a US Passport recently? I just had to renew mine and I can't believe this process exists in 2023. It seems so archaic. It seems like everything I've renewed in recent years is online just about 100%. Global Entry, CHL's, DL, etc. Passport? Nope.

1) Fill out renewal form online.
2) Print and sign form.
3) Take new picture
4) Print & crop picture
5) Write paper check. ($130 for passport, 11 week turnaround, and $60 for "expedited" time of 5 weeks).
6) Mail whole shebang along with old (not expired, still valid) passport.
7) Wait

Why can't this be done electronically? Printed forms and paper checks in 2023 are just absurd. And why do I have to mail a perfectly good passport that I won't have returned for at least a month? What if I need it? I know that they return it with a hole punched in it with my new passport but why bother with that step at all? Does the hole really make a difference? Isn't the fact that it expires good enough?

And $190 for this pleasure? Good grief, Department of State, get your act together and modernize this process. Please.

Definitely get the passport card. Eventually they'll get around to enforcing the star ID thing and this a way around the DMV craziness.

 

[tommyGunZ]

We did our family of 4 a couple years ago at the post office. I didn’t think the red tape was all that terrible just because the bar is so low for a fed gov process, but the cost is ridiculous. Something like $600 to get my family set up with passports? It shouldn’t cost anything.

Agreed that the cost ideally should be minimal - not sure about free. Regardless, I don’t think there is an appetite from ~ 50% of the country to raise taxes to pay for this additional service. I’d vote for it.

 

[tommyGunZ]

As luck would have it, I have all this stuff sitting on a desk waiting to be mailed in. It's been sitting there for weeks, because I'm too lazy to get an envelope, address it, and take it to the post office. But honestly, why do I have to do any of that in 2023?

When the government fails at some small but essential task, maybe inductive reasoning should cause us to question if it's performing well at larger and more complex tasks.

Oh man….if this was the old days this post would spark an entire thread on its own.

Credit where it’s due, IK manages to summarize an entire 30 year political movement in 1 post. Brilliant!

 

[tommyGunZ]

My family recently did this in San Diego, and it was extremely easy. Got the paperwork, cut the check, made an appt at the city clerk’s office via their online portal, went to the appt and turned everything in, then received our renewed passports a few weeks later. Paperwork for 4 took maybe 30 minutes? In person appt at clerks office was 15-20 minutes tops.

I was extremely pleased with the efficiency.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Anyone renewed a US Passport recently? I just had to renew mine and I can't believe this process exists in 2023. It seems so archaic. It seems like everything I've renewed in recent years is online just about 100%. Global Entry, CHL's, DL, etc. Passport? Nope.

1) Fill out renewal form online.
2) Print and sign form.
3) Take new picture
4) Print & crop picture
5) Write paper check. ($130 for passport, 11 week turnaround, and $60 for "expedited" time of 5 weeks).
6) Mail whole shebang along with old (not expired, still valid) passport.
7) Wait

Why can't this be done electronically? Printed forms and paper checks in 2023 are just absurd. And why do I have to mail a perfectly good passport that I won't have returned for at least a month? What if I need it? I know that they return it with a hole punched in it with my new passport but why bother with that step at all? Does the hole really make a difference? Isn't the fact that it expires good enough?

And $190 for this pleasure? Good grief, Department of State, get your act together and modernize this process. Please.

Definitely get the passport card. Eventually they'll get around to enforcing the star ID thing and this a way around the DMV craziness.

Yea, I have both now.

 

[BigJim®]

I would just go in person and have them take the photo there. I think that's what I did last time and I didn't have any issue with it. Sure its a little pricey, but what's a couple hundred bucks for something you need to buy every 10 years.

I did this last week. Began with me being incapable of getting an enhanced ID to replace my expiring drivers license - as they do not accept the birth registration card issued in Wash DC as a birth certificate... a card that was accepted to get my passport previously. The solution was renewing an expired passport and getting the accompanying card for $30... which serves the same need as enhanced ID. Took home a form and returned for a scheduled appt to take a photo.

How I can get a passport renewed under this process, yet be incapable of getting an enhanced ID, remains a mystery to me.

 

[FBG26]

I renewed my passport online a year ago. Super easy. didn't have to mail anything in, just needed to provide the details of my expiring passport and upload a selfie. Not sure if they are still doing that beta program, but that's the way it should be.

 

[thecatch]

I renewed my passport online a year ago. Super easy. didn't have to mail anything in, just needed to provide the details of my expiring passport and upload a selfie. Not sure if they are still doing that beta program, but that's the way it should be.

They aren’t but they are supposed to be releasing a new version of the online system sometime in the relatively near future. I’m waiting for my renewals until that process opens up again.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Post office

I’m not mailing birth certificates to anyone. Ever.

Didn't someone mail it to you? When I needed a replacement, that's what happened. I really wasn't going to travel to Chicago for that.

 

[Ron Swanson]

My family recently did this in San Diego, and it was extremely easy. Got the paperwork, cut the check, made an appt at the city clerk’s office via their online portal, went to the appt and turned everything in, then received our renewed passports a few weeks later. Paperwork for 4 took maybe 30 minutes? In person appt at clerks office was 15-20 minutes tops.

I was extremely pleased with the efficiency.

I would not call this efficiency for a process that should be much simpler in 2023.

 

[Sand]

I renewed my passport online a year ago. Super easy. didn't have to mail anything in, just needed to provide the details of my expiring passport and upload a selfie. Not sure if they are still doing that beta program, but that's the way it should be.

Nope - not available currently. Had to send everything in by hand. My passport is in the queue and I'm hoping to get it back by the end of January for a trip.

 

[Captain Cranks]

Anyone renewed a US Passport recently? I just had to renew mine and I can't believe this process exists in 2023. It seems so archaic. It seems like everything I've renewed in recent years is online just about 100%. Global Entry, CHL's, DL, etc. Passport? Nope.

1) Fill out renewal form online.
2) Print and sign form.
3) Take new picture
4) Print & crop picture
5) Write paper check. ($130 for passport, 11 week turnaround, and $60 for "expedited" time of 5 weeks).
6) Mail whole shebang along with old (not expired, still valid) passport.
7) Wait

Why can't this be done electronically? Printed forms and paper checks in 2023 are just absurd. And why do I have to mail a perfectly good passport that I won't have returned for at least a month? What if I need it? I know that they return it with a hole punched in it with my new passport but why bother with that step at all? Does the hole really make a difference? Isn't the fact that it expires good enough?

And $190 for this pleasure? Good grief, Department of State, get your act together and modernize this process. Please.

I have a cruise scheduled for this coming Thursday and just realized my passport is expired. Only options are to not go (I can't find my birth certificate) or hope I can schedule an appointment at one of their few "urgent" processing centers which is four hours away. Shame on me for not checking.

 

[Capella]

I gotta do mine. Didn’t realized it expired, so I have to imagine that’s gonna be a disaster to renew.

 

[waiver wire]

here in Canada, we still can't do it online.
If your passport isn't expired, it is a pretty simple process.
Get a new picture, fill out 1 form and get 2 signatures from friends. You either mail those and your old passport in via mail or drop it off at 1 of the passport centers.
If your passport is expired, then it is more of headache, more forms to fill out.
It only took 11 days to get my new passport this year

 

[Alex P Keaton]

My family recently did this in San Diego, and it was extremely easy. Got the paperwork, cut the check, made an appt at the city clerk’s office via their online portal, went to the appt and turned everything in, then received our renewed passports a few weeks later. Paperwork for 4 took maybe 30 minutes? In person appt at clerks office was 15-20 minutes tops.

I was extremely pleased with the efficiency.

I would not call this efficiency for a process that should be much simpler in 2023.

Exactly. I should be able to go to a website, check a single box, link to my drivers license photo, pay electronically and receive the new passport without going anywhere.

 

[Hawks64]

I gotta do mine. Didn’t realized it expired, so I have to imagine that’s gonna be a disaster to renew.

Depends on how expired it is. If it's under a certain number of years you can still renew it no issue, if it's over that threshold you have to apply for a brand new one.

 

[Capella]

I gotta do mine. Didn’t realized it expired, so I have to imagine that’s gonna be a disaster to renew.

Depends on how expired it is. If it's under a certain number of years you can still renew it no issue, if it's over that threshold you have to apply for a brand new one.

July of this year

 

[Hawks64]

I gotta do mine. Didn’t realized it expired, so I have to imagine that’s gonna be a disaster to renew.

Depends on how expired it is. If it's under a certain number of years you can still renew it no issue, if it's over that threshold you have to apply for a brand new one.

July of this year

You should be just fine then

 

[NutterButter]

Anyone renewed a US Passport recently? I just had to renew mine and I can't believe this process exists in 2023. It seems so archaic. It seems like everything I've renewed in recent years is online just about 100%. Global Entry, CHL's, DL, etc. Passport? Nope.

1) Fill out renewal form online.
2) Print and sign form.
3) Take new picture
4) Print & crop picture
5) Write paper check. ($130 for passport, 11 week turnaround, and $60 for "expedited" time of 5 weeks).
6) Mail whole shebang along with old (not expired, still valid) passport.
7) Wait

Why can't this be done electronically? Printed forms and paper checks in 2023 are just absurd. And why do I have to mail a perfectly good passport that I won't have returned for at least a month? What if I need it? I know that they return it with a hole punched in it with my new passport but why bother with that step at all? Does the hole really make a difference? Isn't the fact that it expires good enough?

And $190 for this pleasure? Good grief, Department of State, get your act together and modernize this process. Please.

I have a cruise scheduled for this coming Thursday and just realized my passport is expired. Only options are to not go (I can't find my birth certificate) or hope I can schedule an appointment at one of their few "urgent" processing centers which is four hours away. Shame on me for not checking.

Just slip a tubman in the expired passport at the dock.

 

[Johnny Rock]

PSA: Passport photos are free at AAA with membership. Saves $15 vs photo at USPS.

 

[beer 30]

Hoping they have this nonsense worked out by 2029

 

[BlackCrowes]

Just mailed it last week. certainly not the easiest thing.

 

[3C's]

I have to do it again in 4 years and it'll be the last time I do it.

 

[gianmarco]

I have to do it again in 4 years and it'll be the last time I do it.

Sounds ominous

 

[3C's]

I have to do it again in 4 years and it'll be the last time I do it.

Sounds ominous

Yeah, but not really all that exciting. I'll probably retire within 5 years and when I renew in 4 years that one will last me into my early(ish) 70s. By then I won't have a need anymore/won't travel out of the country. I mean I could be dead by then but not planning on it.

 

[tommyGunZ]

My family recently did this in San Diego, and it was extremely easy. Got the paperwork, cut the check, made an appt at the city clerk’s office via their online portal, went to the appt and turned everything in, then received our renewed passports a few weeks later. Paperwork for 4 took maybe 30 minutes? In person appt at clerks office was 15-20 minutes tops.

I was extremely pleased with the efficiency.

I would not call this efficiency for a process that should be much simpler in 2023.

Exactly. I should be able to go to a website, check a single box, link to my drivers license photo, pay electronically and receive the new passport without going anywhere.

There are lots of areas where we clearly need additional govt funding. For example, we know that expanding the Child Tax Credit significantly lowers child poverty. But that expired because 1/2 of America doesn't want to fund it a program to keep children out of poverty.

But folks are upset because in order to get a passport to travel internationally, they have to fill out some forms and put them in the mail?

 

[eoMMan]

Sagat "Funk Dat"

Sagat's US Top 40 and international pop/club hit from 1994 is still a club classic today. The video was shot on the streets of NYC by directors Kurt & Bart....

youtu.be

 

[Alex P Keaton]

My family recently did this in San Diego, and it was extremely easy. Got the paperwork, cut the check, made an appt at the city clerk’s office via their online portal, went to the appt and turned everything in, then received our renewed passports a few weeks later. Paperwork for 4 took maybe 30 minutes? In person appt at clerks office was 15-20 minutes tops.

I was extremely pleased with the efficiency.

I would not call this efficiency for a process that should be much simpler in 2023.

Exactly. I should be able to go to a website, check a single box, link to my drivers license photo, pay electronically and receive the new passport without going anywhere.

There are lots of areas where we clearly need additional govt funding. For example, we know that expanding the Child Tax Credit significantly lowers child poverty. But that expired because 1/2 of America doesn't want to fund it a program to keep children out of poverty.

But folks are upset because in order to get a passport to travel internationally, they have to fill out some forms and put them in the mail?

The idea that we are suggesting only one of those can happen, or that we are somehow choosing one over the other is a very interesting strawman.

 

[NutterButter]

My family recently did this in San Diego, and it was extremely easy. Got the paperwork, cut the check, made an appt at the city clerk’s office via their online portal, went to the appt and turned everything in, then received our renewed passports a few weeks later. Paperwork for 4 took maybe 30 minutes? In person appt at clerks office was 15-20 minutes tops.

I was extremely pleased with the efficiency.

I would not call this efficiency for a process that should be much simpler in 2023.

Exactly. I should be able to go to a website, check a single box, link to my drivers license photo, pay electronically and receive the new passport without going anywhere.

There are lots of areas where we clearly need additional govt funding. For example, we know that expanding the Child Tax Credit significantly lowers child poverty. But that expired because 1/2 of America doesn't want to fund it a program to keep children out of poverty.

But folks are upset because in order to get a passport to travel internationally, they have to fill out some forms and put them in the mail?

The struggle is real

 

[Grahamburn]

I gotta do mine. Didn’t realized it expired, so I have to imagine that’s gonna be a disaster to renew.

Do it now before you want to go somewhere.

I had to renew mine for my brother’s wedding in Mexico. They lost all my paperwork somehow through the mail in process. Go figure.

I had to drive to Miami to do it in person last minute. Literally called our congressman to get me an expedited appointment.

Nightmare.

 

[Psychopav]

As luck would have it, I have all this stuff sitting on a desk waiting to be mailed in. It's been sitting there for weeks, because I'm too lazy to get an envelope, address it, and take it to the post office. But honestly, why do I have to do any of that in 2023?

When the government fails at some small but essential task, maybe inductive reasoning should cause us to question if it's performing well at larger and more complex tasks.

While I agree wholeheartedly, I can't help but savor the irony contained in the bolded statement, coming from a man who has not performed the simple task of addressing and mailing an envelop for weeks on end.

 

[Ron Swanson]

My family recently did this in San Diego, and it was extremely easy. Got the paperwork, cut the check, made an appt at the city clerk’s office via their online portal, went to the appt and turned everything in, then received our renewed passports a few weeks later. Paperwork for 4 took maybe 30 minutes? In person appt at clerks office was 15-20 minutes tops.

I was extremely pleased with the efficiency.

I would not call this efficiency for a process that should be much simpler in 2023.

Exactly. I should be able to go to a website, check a single box, link to my drivers license photo, pay electronically and receive the new passport without going anywhere.

There are lots of areas where we clearly need additional govt funding. For example, we know that expanding the Child Tax Credit significantly lowers child poverty. But that expired because 1/2 of America doesn't want to fund it a program to keep children out of poverty.

But folks are upset because in order to get a passport to travel internationally, they have to fill out some forms and put them in the mail?

I don't agree that this a funding issue. In fact, the current manual method of passport renewal increases the burden and expense on the government as well as the passport holder. Think about how much labor it must take just to open and process the volume of mail the current process generates. And we know they've already made the invesment in the programming infrastructure to support an online process since we learned upthread that they did it for a while...

Who knows, current archaic passport renewal methods may be the reason of the lack of fund availability for the Child Tax Credit.

Why does the US State Department hate children?

 

[Orange&Blue]

Anyone renewed a US Passport recently? I just had to renew mine and I can't believe this process exists in 2023. It seems so archaic. It seems like everything I've renewed in recent years is online just about 100%. Global Entry, CHL's, DL, etc. Passport? Nope.

1) Fill out renewal form online.
2) Print and sign form.
3) Take new picture
4) Print & crop picture
5) Write paper check. ($130 for passport, 11 week turnaround, and $60 for "expedited" time of 5 weeks).
6) Mail whole shebang along with old (not expired, still valid) passport.
7) Wait

Why can't this be done electronically? Printed forms and paper checks in 2023 are just absurd. And why do I have to mail a perfectly good passport that I won't have returned for at least a month? What if I need it? I know that they return it with a hole punched in it with my new passport but why bother with that step at all? Does the hole really make a difference? Isn't the fact that it expires good enough?

And $190 for this pleasure? Good grief, Department of State, get your act together and modernize this process. Please.

there are room for improvements no doubt, and having three i can certainly relate. but they require you to submit the one being replaced to address theft/etc.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

As luck would have it, I have all this stuff sitting on a desk waiting to be mailed in. It's been sitting there for weeks, because I'm too lazy to get an envelope, address it, and take it to the post office. But honestly, why do I have to do any of that in 2023?

When the government fails at some small but essential task, maybe inductive reasoning should cause us to question if it's performing well at larger and more complex tasks.

While I agree wholeheartedly, I can't help but savor the irony contained in the bolded statement, coming from a man who has not performed the simple task of addressing and mailing an envelop for weeks on end.

Hey, I'm not denying that I'm lazy. But I'm not the one running the passport office!

(In all seriousness, and not to get too political, but stuff like this ought to be a good reminder to everyone that government sludge has a way of excluding people, because some folks will just throw up their hands if it gets too complicated. For example, lots of people have argued against means-testing this program or that program over the years, on the grounds that means-testing puts up barriers by requiring verification of income. If you're an upper-middle-class adult who gets mildly annoyed at having to print out a paper form and physically staple stuff to it before mailing it an actual brick-and-mortar post office, it should make you a little more sensitive to low-income people who have to jump through hoops to qualify their kid for free school lunches. Just something to think about).

 

[Ron Swanson]

Anyone renewed a US Passport recently? I just had to renew mine and I can't believe this process exists in 2023. It seems so archaic. It seems like everything I've renewed in recent years is online just about 100%. Global Entry, CHL's, DL, etc. Passport? Nope.

1) Fill out renewal form online.
2) Print and sign form.
3) Take new picture
4) Print & crop picture
5) Write paper check. ($130 for passport, 11 week turnaround, and $60 for "expedited" time of 5 weeks).
6) Mail whole shebang along with old (not expired, still valid) passport.
7) Wait

Why can't this be done electronically? Printed forms and paper checks in 2023 are just absurd. And why do I have to mail a perfectly good passport that I won't have returned for at least a month? What if I need it? I know that they return it with a hole punched in it with my new passport but why bother with that step at all? Does the hole really make a difference? Isn't the fact that it expires good enough?

And $190 for this pleasure? Good grief, Department of State, get your act together and modernize this process. Please.

there are room for improvements no doubt, and having three i can certainly relate. but they require you to submit the one being replaced to address theft/etc.

That makes no sense since they send it back, just with a hole punched in it. Why can't expired passports simply be invalid???

 

[Sand]

But folks are upset because in order to get a passport to travel internationally, they have to fill out some forms and put them in the mail?

And pay $160 and wait 12 weeks. When you look at it you're paying $160 for a database check and about 5 minutes of data entry put into a $2 book. Any normal business and that is wildly profitable. But since it's govt. instead it takes a quarter.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

My family recently did this in San Diego, and it was extremely easy. Got the paperwork, cut the check, made an appt at the city clerk’s office via their online portal, went to the appt and turned everything in, then received our renewed passports a few weeks later. Paperwork for 4 took maybe 30 minutes? In person appt at clerks office was 15-20 minutes tops.

I was extremely pleased with the efficiency.

I gotta do mine. Didn’t realized it expired, so I have to imagine that’s gonna be a disaster to renew.

Do it now before you want to go somewhere.

I had to renew mine for my brother’s wedding in Mexico. They lost all my paperwork somehow through the mail in process. Go figure.

I had to drive to Miami to do it in person last minute. Literally called our congressman to get me an expedited appointment.

Nightmare.

Sounds like you two live in different countries.

 

[Psychopav]

I was able to renew my Known Traveler status online. If you can do that online, you should be able to renew passports online imo.

 

[PlayaHata]

We experienced an absolute nightmare passport renewal this spring. Submitted our renewal online something like 5 months before our trip to Europe was scheduled. As our trip got closer and closer and still no passports, I finally called the Passport help line only to be told there was nothing they could do, including scheduling an in person appointment as a passport office, before 10 days out from our trip. So exactly 10 days out, first thing in the morning I call the 800# and try to schedule an in-person appointment just in case - only to be told there are NO appointments available at ANY passport office anywhere even remotely close to us. My wife and I ended up have to book same day round trip flights from Indianapolis to NYC because that's the only place we could get an in-person appointment. There are stories like this all over the place, including many that have had to miss/cancel trips or pay a ton of extra money out of pocket like us to get passports renewed. What a ****show. If you have international travel scheduled/planned and you need to renew passports, send them in ASAP.