Dave Naffziger’s Blog

After exceeding 150 comments on post detailing my original experience getting a same day passport, I decided to go through the comments and separate the experiences and helpful tips by passport office.

These comments and tips were related to people’s experiences at the Washington DC Passport Office.

From Brian:

Thank you Dave and everyone else on this Blog. This little diamond hidden with all the other b.s. and lies saved my relationship and vacation!! lol After my first post,i kept calling the auto system and got a cancelled appt for 9am in DC, on tues. we drove thru mon night got there early, waited patiently had all docs, watched others sent home w out correct info, one trhown out for getting lippy with guard. was processed at 10am w a 3pm return, went shopping in Georgetown, and then waited 2.5 hours till 530, BUT got my Passport and drove home to pittsburgh. This blog was 100% dead on. They did take non appoinments and are very helpful, its a nut house in there, but smile, and be patient and youll be happy.
thanks again Dave. we had a GREAT vacation!!!

From watsonara:

To add my recent experience from August 2010…I realized Friday night my passport had expired, and we were traveling the following Tuesday. I tried to get an appt from the 24 hour line, but the earliest one they would give me for Washington DC, Philly or NY was a week away, so no help. I was first in line at the DC passport office at 6 am on Monday, with photos and itinerary in hand (it was a printout from the travel agency). By 7:30 they let us into the waiting room, and there were 100 people behind me. At 8:00 they opened and I went up to the first window and they agreed to take me WITHOUT an appt because of my travel deadline.

My passport was ready by 12:30. So, to correct some other statements - not every passport office will do this, only the regional centers. Also they will take you without an appt if it’s clear you have to travel right away (and it doesn’t have to be life-or-death). CVS takes passport photos, and the DC office has several places nearby that take photos, so other regional centers may as well.

And if all else fails - contact your Congressman. They can intervene if you’re really desperate.

From Andrew:

Dave,

Thanks for the info. This is great. A few points to add for those around the D.C. area:

(1) Appointments - they (the U.S. State Dept.) say you absolutely positively need one and lines of walk-ins (w/o apptmt.) no longer form. I called the automated line a few times throughout the night. The first appointment it gave me was like five days out, so I just kept calling back, and eventually I guess someone cancelled or something because I got an 8AM appointment the following day.

(2) Photos - similar to others on here, I’ve had the experience that CVS photo labs, even if the store they are in is open, do not operate 24 hours. FedEx/Kinkos is the way to go for photos.

(3) Time - bring a book to the processing center, and expect to be there for an hour or two. This is, after all, the federal government.

That’s it. I got my passport less than 24 hours after I found out I needed it. Expediters take 24-48 hours after they receive your documents, and they only submit info to the government once a day, each day at 9AM. So if you get your stuff to the service after 9AM, don’t expect your passport within 24 hours, no matter what you pay them. Follow the steps above, avoid the headache and the expediting fee, and enjoy your travels!!

Thanks again Dave.

From Taylor:

I just got back from the Washington (DC) Passport Agency a few minutes ago and I’m very happy and relieved. I was supposed to travel on Saturday but got to the airport and was told my passport expired last month (I was under 16 when I got the passport so I had to get an entirely new one). Nothing is open on the weekend but I called passport services and the earliest appointment I could get was for Thursday and I needed to get on the next flight Tuesday morning. I got in touch with my congressman (I’m from NJ) and he gave me numbers to call in case I ran into any problems. I got to the passport agency at 6:30 and the open the doors at 7:30. I was the first person there. By 7:30 there were only 3 people (including me) waiting to get in. However, shortly after 7:30 the office really started filling up with lots of people. They started seeing people at 8AM and I was first. I gave them my recently expired passport, my student ID, and a copy of my license since I didn’t have the original (I had a copy of my birth certificate, SS card, and school records just in case, but didn’t need them). What I gave was sufficient, I paid $195 to get my passport that day, and was out of the office by 8:05. I was told my passport would be ready at 2PM. I came to the office at 1:55 and was out by 2:30 with my new passport in hand. The people were very nice and absolutely willing to work with me even though I DID NOT HAVE AN APPOINTMENT. it all depends on what time you get there, they didn’t even ask people if they had an appointment, it was based on what time they arrived. GET THERE EARLY!!!!! I was very satisfied with how they handled everything and will hopefully be out of here tomorrow morning.

If you have had an experience at the Washington DC passport office, please share it below.