Though only the Passport Services Office
- June 29th, 2010
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Though only the Passport Services Office of the State Department has the authority to issue passports, companies such as Passport Express and Travisa work directly with the government to secure passports in as little as 24 hours.
Either way, if it is your first passport or you have lost your expired passport, you must go to a passport acceptance facility with your passport photos, proof of citizenship and photo ID to have your application validated. The State Department lists about 7,000 locations, including courts, post offices, libraries and government offices.
At this stage, one of your options is to remit payment and mail applications from these approved locations. When mailing directly to the Passport Services Office, you will also have the ability to pay $60 for expedited shipping. Though this method doesn?t guarantee passport completion for immediate departures, it can be useful if you are traveling within 3 to 4 weeks to ensure you receive your passport.
In lieu of submitting your application directly to the Passport Services Office, your alternatives are to have your materials approved for mailing via the aforementioned third-party expediting services, or to make an appointment with one of 13 regional passport agencies.
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