My passport expired in 2005 and I needed a new one before the Ireland trip in July. After hearing horror stories about long delays last summer that forced people to cancel their vacations, I didn’t want to wait any later than this week, so I went ahead and filed today. Since it had been less than 15 years since my old passport was issued, I was able to file through mail and save a $30 fee for a new application, but still had to pay $67 for the passport itself. I got pictures at Walgreen’s for $8 (not a good picture, but it’s for a passport) and mailed in the application, pictures, check, and my old passport in a padded envelope. They said it should take four to six weeks, so I think they have worked through their backlog.
The State Department’s passport site (doesn’t render correctly in my SeaMonkey browser, but looks okay in Internet Explorer)
The check cleared today. So they must have the application.
Today I received two envelopes from the government. The first was my old passport now with a “cancelled” stamp in it (I didn’t know I would get it back) and two holes punch in the front cover. Stapled to my old passport was my passport picture. The other was a Priority Mail envelope with my new passport. I guess they scan the picture and print it on the paper, adding blue stripes across my face. Less than 3 weeks!