How Long Does it Take to Get an Expedited Passport?
If you apply for standard processing, your passport application will probably take at least 6 weeks to process. To ensure that you have an adequate margin of error, most travel experts recommend you apply even further ahead of time than that.
While it's best to plan ahead, not everyone has the opportunity of doing so. If you don't have 6 to 8 weeks to wait, you can get your passport expedited. But how long will that take?
The answer depends on what method you use to expedite your passport. The Department if State's standard expedited service can reduce processing time to about 3 weeks. To get this service, request expedited service when you apply and pay an additional $60 fee. It's also recommended that you pay $14.95 to get your passport sent back to you via overnight mail, and that you use an overnight service to send your passport application to the Department of State as well.
If you're leaving in 2 weeks or less of you are leaving in 4 weeks or less but need your passport back ASAP to apply for a foreign visa, you can make an appointment at one of the 21 regional passport agencies in the United States. A passport agency office will generally have your passport ready within 24 hours. However, since there are 21 only offices in the entire country, you may have to travel a bit to reach one.
If making an appointment at a passport agency is impractical or inconvenient, you may want to consider using a private expediting company instead. The best expedited services can get your passport application processed in 24 hours, but remember to factor in the time to mail the application to them and for them to mail it back. You'll also have to pay a fee to the company to use this service, in addition to what you are already paying the government. Still, in many cases using a private company is simply the easiest way to get an expedited passport.
