Need passport renewal help!

[annathepiper]

So the chances of solarbird and I getting to go to Scotland for Worldcon this year have improved slightly--and so I want to make sure my passport is properly renewed in time. The only problem is that I do not know how to go about doing this. Anybody on my Friends list in the Seattle area, can you recommend a proper place to go and get this done? Thanks in advance!

Comments

[solarbird]

There's a passport office downtown that's fastest. Also, the Seattle neighbourhood centres can do it too, without much additional delay. But downtown is faster if you have to do it in an expedited fashion, which shaves weeks off the process. (From like eight to two or something.)

The cheaper, slower way is definitely better, but you need to do it asap.

[kathrynt.livejournal.com]

Er, when I renewed my passport in Mill Creek (before the Bothell office was open) it took three days, I think.

[annathepiper]

Cool. :) What all did it involve? I presume I have to go get new passport photos made?

[kathrynt.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to remember. We had passport photos taken at Costco, and we handed those over along with the paperwork and about $110 each or something, and three days later we got our passports. My timing might be totally off though. I was renewing, Erik was getting his first passport.

[annathepiper]

Ah, okay. I'm given to understand there are forms to download, and aerialscribe says that unless you have changes to make to your passport they really want you to mail the documentation in. Guess I'll be looking at that. :) Thanks for the input!

[solarbird]

Really? Huh. Okay. Expedited took them something like ten days when I did it. (Maybe less - a week? I forget.)

Of course, I had changes. So I guess it wasn't a pure renewal.

[llachglin.livejournal.com]

No. It took the usual N weeks, with N being a number from 2 to 6. I can't remember exactly. We DID go to Mill Creek (the police station there, because it was one of the few offices open on Saturdays), but recall that this was for new passports and not renewals. Renewals are a different process, I think.

[kathrynt.livejournal.com]

Mine was a renewal. Remember, baby, I was born in a foreign country?

[llachglin.livejournal.com]

I thought that yours had to go through the new passport process because it had been so long since it had been current. I seem to recall that you were going to do the renewal process and found out you couldn't.

[annathepiper]

aerialscribe says elsewhere on the thread that for renewals, they really want you to mail in the paperwork. So I guess I'll be doing that. :)