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My current passport expires on October 27, 2021. I've taken a look at the U.S. State Department guidelines for renewal, and it seems like their policies are adamant that if it's not a life-or-death situation and/or it's not urgent (within the next few business days) they want you to submit your old passport, Form DS-82, and supporting documents. My question is open-ended and as follows:

  • Has anyone been able to just bring in the supporting documentation (without it being an urgent situation as mentioned before) to a renewal facility and get it done there? I imagine that they'll be sticklers about it, but I'm just curious to hear if anyone has done it.
  • If you've mailed in your passport as part of the renewal process, how satisfied were you with the experience?

I'm afraid of losing my passport in the mail, but if that's the only option then I'll do it. I just wanted to hear from other people who have renewed their passports recently.

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When I last renewed my passport, I did it in person. They did require that I show proof of imminent travel. Without it, I suspect that they would not have taken my application.

The previous renewal was by mail. If I recall correctly, I got the new passport in about 2 weeks, despite not having paid for expedited service.

Both experiences were perfectly satisfactory. The mail renewal was about 12 years ago, though, and the demand for passports had increased considerably since then, so even without COVID it's entirely possible that the processing times have increased. I would leave a couple of weeks extra for a mail renewal these days.

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