Getting a passport in a big damn hurry

So, I just found out that my musical idol Beardyman is performing in Vancouver, BC on September 13th. That’s four weeks from frickin’ yesterday. Since my hacking project is all about his kind of schtick, I naturally have lit a fire under my butt to 1) get it working well enough to demo for him if I can connect w/him in some way up there, and 2) actually get my ass from Seattle (my home) to the show itself.

#2 is where the problem is. I had a passport but I unfortunately lost it in our cross-state move three years ago, and lagged on replacing it. So when I found out about this Vancouver show on Tuesday, I jumped right into assembling all the necessary paperwork. I even had a wallet-sized certified birth certificate all ready to go, which I used when I got the first passport.

Unfortunately it turns out they are more hard-assed about documentation now (unsurprisingly, I suppose), and they rejected my wallet-sized certificate, so I have to get a proper copy of my full-sized birth certificate. Fortunately vitalchek.com seems to be on the ball in a big way, but even so, it will probably be a full week before I have that. Then I’m smack up against the 2-3 week expected wait time for expedited passport applications.

There is some kind of 24-hour rush process that exists for getting passports in a big damn hurry. My questions for you all: 1) have you used that process, and what was it like? 2) what other salient advice or experience do you have regarding getting passports under time pressure, in modern ultra-paranoid America?

Is there an official passport office near you? My sister went to the one here to get an expedited passport renewal and it worked fine. She just had to pay extra and make an appointment in advance.

Alternately, doesn’t Washington issue the Enhanced ID? That only takes about 10 business days to process. I applied for mine a couple weeks ago (in VT) and it arrived a week later.

If you have an itinerary, it’s possible to get a rush on a passport with a rush fee.

Or, I could when I got mine, pre-911.

I just got a new passport (for the first time since I was 14), used the expedited shipping option, and got it in about 2.5 weeks. I was very happy with the speed, which was $60 extra.

BTW, the answer to both my questions is yes.

Quickest option is probably to make an appointment at the Seattle passport agency.

Here is a handy link.

Alas it looks like they only want you there within two weeks of the date of travel.

Find a 3rd party expediter and go with them. First hit on google, and you have your choice of time frames.

And FWIW, 4 weeks is not a damn hurry. ;-)

Yep, works like a charm.

I tried a year or two ago for an expedited appointment. They refused. Unless your deadline is 1-2 weeks (I forget), they want you to use mail service. It took about 2 weeks to arrive.

This is like the third time this topic has come up.

Can’t you just use your birth certificate for entry into Canada? Or does that not work anymore? It worked back in 2003, but then again, I was a kid.

There are several passport expediting agencies which can really speed things up to the tune of $100 or so. I’m not going to endorse any, but they’re a quick Google away.

Citizens of the United States of America do not require a passport for entry into Canada according to the Canadian Border services Agency. Birth certificate and other photo ID is sufficient although it may be a good idea to contact the CBSA to determine what photo ID is considered valid.

Bingo! So don’t worry about it, RepoMan, and acquire your passport in less of a Big Damn Hurry after the concert.

You live in Seattle, don’t you? There’s a passport office downtown. When I was being shipped out to China I got my passport in 24 hours. I just had to bring my plane ticket with me. :)

I had about 14 hours to get to Belgrade a couple of years ago. I didn’t have any issues getting an expedited passport in Seattle. I had itinerary already in hand and it was relatively painless, although more expensive.

I could be completely misremembering – I’d think a state-issued ID would be sufficient – but I seem to recall hearing once upon a time that the passport was actually required to get BACK into the states.

Right. I looked into that part.

Also, thanks for the info on expediting. Unfortunately I am driving up there, not flying, so I don’t have a flight itinerary to present. It sounds like if the birth certificate gets here next Monday or so, I should go with the normal expedited express-mail option; but if it gets here at the end of next week, I should go with the show-up-in-person-two-weeks-prior option.

When I renewed my passport in an emergency (I had about 1 month to get mine), I paid for overnight mail back and forth, as well as expedited processing. I had my new passport in my hand exactly one week after mailing it. Granted, renewals are a lot easier and quicker than lapsed or new passports.

I looked into the ‘In Person’ option too. If I was near the 2 week limit, I probably would have done that, but the post office said most of the time an expedited renewal would be back in about a week or two.

Also, I believe you can track the status of the application online. Which helped ease my worries.

EDIT: Link to the status tracker: https://passportstatus2.state.gov/opss/OPSS_Status_ip.asp

Also, a friend of mine from Seattle just reminded me about the Enhanced ID stuff. Its good for land crossings.

http://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/edlget.html

Good news: A rush passport is a problem you can solve with a sufficient application of money.

For about $300-$350 dollars, you can get a first-time passport in about 48 hours by paying a passport expediting company such as CIBT to do the leg work at your regional passport center.

Bad news: The U.S. government needs you to see your travel itinerary showing an international flight booking or they won’t give you one of these super-rush passports.

Way ahead of you, dude.

I got mine a couple weeks ago. Haven’t crossed the border with it yet, but I may head to Montreal on Tuesday. Of course, it may not be valid until my birthday, which is a few days after Tuesday…