www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Does anybody have any first hand knowledge of the normal time it takes to renew a passport by mail here in the US without paying for rush service? Thank you.

4-6 weeks by mail.

If you are traveling within 2 weeks, you can visit one of 25 US official passport agnecies and get your new passport same day, but you gotta pay the extra $60.

http://travel.state.gov/passport/npic/a ... s_913.html

Thanks Orange. That should work for me.

I thought I paid an extra $100 for the rush service

The expedite fee is $60. You must have used a private company that charges a premium to expedite your passport for you.

it took me six weeks and they mailed the old passport back in 8 weeks.

spring of 2012 I was getting close to 6 months left on my passport. I was living in San Pedro at the time. I went to the Local U.S. Embassy and I got a e-mail in 6 days that I could pick up my passport.
6 days -vs- 6 weeks. No brainer.

[quote="Jdd"]Does anybody have any first hand knowledge of the normal time it takes to renew a passport by mail here in the US without paying for rush service? Thank you.[/quote]

I talked to the consular in Playa del Carmen , Mexico last week, and a passport renewel will take 2 weeks, because they are done in Mexico City.
. $80 for the renewal.

CALHOUN, HOW MUCH DID THEY CHARGE FOR THE PASSPORT ? I DID THE SAME THING IN THE SPRING OF 2009 AND THE FEE WAS $75. I TOOK THE BUS FROM COCA COLA. $2 FOR TWO ROUND TRIPS.

Another suggestion is to contact you Senator's or Congressman's office. They will give you a unique P.O. Box for fast turn around. Tell them you need the passport for a business trip. Requires a prepaid return express mail envelope.

If you live in Miami, you can make an appointment and go the passport office / state department office on Biscayne. Call and make the appointment. They will tell you what you need to bring. Turn around is 24 hours. You have to return the next day to pick-up.

If you are getting a new 10 year passport, request and pay the extra fee for the extra stamp pages. PR taught me this, gracias which I failed to implement.

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RideAllTheRides

Miami has same-day service by appointment only

When I called for an appointment at the Miami passport office, the appointment was for the next day last May.

I showed-up at the appointed hour in the morning with the required stuff, including my checkbook. I had a new passport in my hands at 3:30 that same afternoon. There was no extra fee for the extra pages in the passport.

The "expedite fee" , on top of the regular fee, was $100.

I remember that one well RAC. I was in the states back in Feb. and got my done Via mail in 2 weeks. When filling out the renewal for, just put that you are leaving the country in 2 weeks. No rush fee. $110 out the door. In Costa Rica you can usually get it back to you in a week. This is what I should have done. I had a client the other day, lost his p.p. and got a new one same day at the America Embassy in C.R.

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Don't want anyone confused here. When you lose a passport, the Embassy can give you a replacement (emergency) passport the same day to get you back into the States where you can trade it in for a new (real) one. However, they can NOT give you a brand new passport (with 10 years validity) the same day so don't think you can claim a 'lost' passport to get a new one with same day service. To get the emergency replacement passport, you will also have to provide an itinerary of your trip to justify the reason for an emergency replacement.

Here are a couple of helpful links:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/eme ... _1197.html
http://costarica.usembassy.gov/passports.html

I too renewed my passport at the U.S. Embassy and it was ready in less than a week with good service (for government stuff anyway).

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The only thing that matters is happiness in all it forms...

When I lost my passport a few months before my 2011 maiden voyage, I went to the US Post Office and got expedited service to replace it for $150 and the new passport came 1 week later.

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Alright, since I started this. Mailed my passport renewal in on July 22 via USPS Priority Mail, received the new one today using their routine service. Not bad IMHO, just under 3 weeks. Plenty of time to spare for my September trip.