How To Get An Expedited Passport

This post will show you exactly how to get an expedited passport.

Actually, I will show even share with you an alternative method, for when you really screw things up like I did for my recent trip to Costa Rica.

We planned the trip about 4 months ago.  I told Cindy we needed to check the passports to make sure they were all in good standing.  Turns out, it was just mine that had expired.

No problem.

I had plenty of time to go through the proper channels and renew my passport.  Because it was a renewal, I didn’t even have to waste a day driving into the city to wait around for them to call my number.  I could just mail my passport in and in a few weeks, they would send me the new one.  This is all done through the U.S. Department Of State via the Bureau Of Consular Affairs.  Now to be clear, unless you meet the requirements listed on their website, you may have to visit an office in person.  Click HERE to go directly to the Department Of State website for more info.

The routine processing time for this is about 6-8 weeks.  As you can see, I had plenty of time to renew.

But, I put it off.

And off some more.

With about 5 weeks to go, Cindy asked me if I had renewed my passport.

Shit.

Let’s see if they have an expedited passport option.

I was in luck.  It turns out if you are a complete procrastinator like me, you can pay a little more money and have your new passport within 2-3 weeks.

Great!

So instead of paying the $110 to renew my passport, all I had to do was pay an extra $60 to expedite it.  I know, I am an idiot…more on that later.  In fact, you will see more of that through out this blog, because I want to be as transparent as possible, and sometimes, I am an idiot.  Well, maybe not, I just do idiotic things.  Yea, that sounds better!

Somehow those next few weeks just got away from me.

Now I was down to only having two weeks left before our trip.  What this meant was I would still have to pay the extra money to have my passport expedited.  However, I would have to go down to the Philadelphia branch office in person.  This is exactly what I was trying to avoid in the first place.  I called the office to make an appointment.  To my dismay, the automated system said no appointments were available for the next two weeks.

Oh shit.

I kept calling and pressing all kinds of extensions until I found a live person.  She told me I would have to wait until Friday at midnight and try to see if there are any new appointment slots, since the system works on a two-week rotation.

Yeah, that wasn’t going to work.  That meant I only would have about 9-10 days left to get this done.  So I did what anyone would do in my position…I called the New York, Boston, and D.C. offices, which were all “relatively” close to me.

No luck.

OH SHIT.

At this point, panic started to set in.  I did the only thing I could think of doing.

I googled what to do when you need a passport fast.

The list of reputable, somewhat reputable, and “a guy who knows a guy down by the docks” came up.  Most of them were in New York, so it was going to mean taking a day to go to NYC, and figure this out.  This was not good, as I didn’t know who to trust.  They all had mixed reviews on sites like Yelp.com.  Now as a point of reference, I would normally go with “a guy who knows a guy,” because they tend to get things done.  However, I would only go this route if I had a personal referral from someone.  So I went through my contacts on my phone until I came across someone who could point me in the right direction.  After a few calls, I finally got a name.

Enter Howard Broder, owner of The Passport Guys (www.thepassportguys.com).  Sounds legit…legit enough, at least.

1st comfort point:

He was located in Philadelphia, rather than New York.

2nd comfort point:

He had a phone number (215-739-3844).

3rd comfort point:

He actually answered the phone when I called.

I spoke with Howard, and he asked me to explain my situation.  Once I told him I had less than two weeks to go, he said “No problem.  You can come down in the next couple of days.  If you told me your flight was tomorrow, you would need to leave NOW.”  He then tells me what I need to bring with me, and how much it will cost.

Wow, is this guy really that good?

I make an appointment for the next morning, and drive down to meet him.

4th comfort point:

He actually had an office, and I didn’t have to meet him in a parking lot somewhere.

I walked in and met Howard.  He is a pleasant guy, and we got down to business, filling out the forms.  He tells me to give him a few days, and that he will call me by Tuesday to pick up the passport or he could overnight it to me.  I choose the in person option, as I don’t want to take any more chances at this point.  Tuesday comes along, and boom, my phone rings and it’s Howard saying I can come pick up my expedited passport!  I drive down Wednesday morning, and sure enough, Howard hands me an envelope with my old passport, as well as my new one.  It even looks real!  I thank him, and off I go.

Fast forward a few more days and I am sitting in the security line, waiting my turn.  Half jokingly, I say to Cindy, “Wouldn’t it be funny if this passport is fake?”

The look I get in return, tells me it would not be funny.

I am finally up next, and they scan my newly minted, expedited passport.  The security officer looks at my photo, looks up at me, looks back at my photo and says “Have a nice trip.”

It turns out Howard Broder and The Passport Guys are the real deal.

So the lesson here is don’t be idiotic like I was and wait until the last-minute.

However if you do, or you lose your passport, or whatever the issue, you can give The Passport Guys a call, and Howard will take care of you.