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Pushing the Envelope Blog

Passports and the Postal Service 

Date: 08/23/21 | Category: Products & Services

Because of the pandemic, the U.S. Postal Service had to suspend walk-in passport application services and require appointments be made in advance. Add in a drop in international travel, again because of the pandemic, it’s no real surprise USPS experienced a 34 percent drop in passport application revenue from fiscal year 2019 to 2020.

Still, we wanted to see if there were opportunities to improve the Postal Service’s overall passport application acceptance operations. Our recent audit report discussed how operations were generally compliant with requirements set by the State Department, which processes and approves all applications. On the other hand, we found USPS could improve both quality and effectiveness related to appointment scheduling, data accuracy, coordination with State Department stakeholders, and performance goals.

For instance, we noted Postal Service employees sometimes improperly blocked appointment times or used an incorrect email format when reserving appointments on behalf of customers. We also found customers blocked large numbers of appointments improperly. Why did this happen? Because there were no mechanisms in place to detect or prevent it. We also identified at least four State Department reports on passport operations that could provide USPS management with additional insight in identifying areas of improvement. Management had not been aware of these reports.

We recommended, among other things, more coordination with the State Department and enhancing USPS performance metrics for passport operations. Implementing these operational improvements in a timely manner will be important as walk-in services have recently resumed in select areas at the discretion of local facility management.

Have you made a passport appointment recently at a post office? How did it go?

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Hannah Rosse Gómez peguero
May 20, 2023
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Plis send how Long take My passport
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Raghu
May 15, 2023
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What is the point of passport appointments if they make you wait 1 hr+ with a toddler. This is the 2nd time. Last time was with a month old baby. At Rosenberg Post office.
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Shelly
Apr 17, 2023
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Made an appointment for passport application at USPS in Houston and waited 30 minutes - no one ever showed up!
  
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Jeremy
May 9, 2023
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I got the same issue this morning
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Khalil
Apr 13, 2023
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Informative post! I have bookmarked this link for future blogs.
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Gilbert White Vereen
Apr 6, 2023
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Well on the 4/3/2023
I have done my passport application at the post office in El Paso Texas and I didn't had enough money for an large envelope and I ended up mailing it in a small white stamp envelope with application and documents attached and fold it neater to fit in the envelope and I cannot get in touch with no one change it or stop it from going out to the state passport office and I can't even cancel the order or seeing about getting my application and documents attached back to re do it right so I may have to get my money refund back by having my bank depute charge for my money order and report my identity stolen
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Dee Rose
Mar 17, 2023
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We scheduled a passport appointment two times at the Brooklyn Red Hook location and and both times the agent didn't show up and our appointment has been cancelled. I would advise usps to stop letting scheduled appointments at this location since they dont show up to service.
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Sergio Medina
Mar 14, 2023
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I was told I will receive me and my wife’s Birth Certificate two weeks after our passport application has arrived for processing. It’s been almost 6 weeks and nothing. I called the number and was on hold for 7 hours and no answer from a representative. I want to know what is going on with my PII.
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Connor Merriam
Mar 13, 2023
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I went to apply for a new passport at the Burnsville Minnesota post office today, 03/13/2023. My appointment was for 3:15 and I arrived at 2:50 to ensure I had time to do paper work or whatever need to be done ahead of time. The individual whose job it was to process my application did not come and get me until 3:35. At that point the next applicant was there for their 3:30 appointment. Instead of apologizing for their tardiness, the postal employee told the other applicant and I that we could just do our applications together at the same time in their small office. On top of all this, I was forced to redo my paperwork 4 times by the postal employee as any letter or number that was “too dark” was a mistake and the file was void. Having to continually fill out two large forms of sensitive and personal information while the employee chatted with another applicant felt incredibly inappropriate. Not to mention they were late and forced me to take my appointment with someone else. The postal employee was rude, invasive, and slow. The form system and the way the application process is administered needs to be overhauled and frequently audited.
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William Adaro
Mar 11, 2023
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My son is 17 years old, was request birth certificate but he has not with him because he has his previous valid passport, the employee did not process the application and give him another appointment a month after. I can't believe it.
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SL
Jul 14, 2022
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There are no post offices accepting applications in my city. I have to drive at least an hour to find a post office that qill acxept my application. I suppose that's not a long ways comparatively, but I live in a larger city while the towns I have to drive to are all very small one post office towns. It seems odd to me.
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Ashwaq Mozeb
Jul 13, 2022
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I apply for passport and passport card on March 18 at 2302 Avenue U, Brooklyn, NY 11229 , and I have not received it, I was supposed to receive it on June 26 as it stated on the online status. I also had it expedited I tired contacting the number on the passport application but they could not provided me any information about my passport nor would the USPS and I went to three places and called many time and sent out mail concerning not receiving my passport.

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deborah L Gudelman
Jul 6, 2022
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RE: THE PASSPORT REPRESENTATIVE @ POST OFFICE AT 9450 PINECROFT DR SPRING, TX 77380-9998. I MADE AN APPOINTMENT FOR APRIL 11, 2022 FOR A NEW PASSPORT. SHE CAME UP TO THE COUNTER AT APPT. TIME & WITHOUT GREETING OR TALKING TO ME STARTED SHUFFLING THROUGH MY DOCUMENTS. AT THAT TIME I SPECIFICALLY ASKED IF MY BIRTH CERTIFICATE WAS ACCEPTABLE. ( IT IS A VERY OLD COPY-A MICROFILM TYPE, BUT IT WAS A CERTIFIED COPY). IT WAS LAMINATED, WHICH I DID NOT KNOW AT THE TIME WAS NOT ALLOWED. SHE, I MAY HAVE SAID UH-HU OR YES ALTHOUGH UNDER HER BREATH & TOOK THE DOCUMENTS NEEDED & WENT TO THE COPIER & VISITED WITH ANOTHER EMPLOYEE WHILE THEY RAN. SHE SEEMED NOT AT ALL BOTHERED WITH HER JOB. I THOUGHT THE REPRESENTATIVES WERE ADVISORS FOR THE PASSPORT AGENCY EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THEY WERE EMPLOYED BY THE POST OFFICE. i GOT NO GUIDANCE AT ALL & I COULD HAVE DONE WHAT SHE DID A MONTH BEFORE (WHEN I TRIED TO MAKE THE APPT.) & SENT IT IN MYSELF. I ALSO THOUGHT THE ORIGINALS NEEDED TO BE SENT IN & THEY WOULD BE MAILED BACK AFTER THE PASSPORT WAS SENT.SHE MAILED THE COPIES. NOW I FIND OUT 9 WEEKS LATER MY APPLICATION IS DENIED BECAUSE BIRTH CERTIFICATE WAS LAMINATED! I REALLY ACTUALLY THOUGHT THESE REPRESENTATIVES WERE SUPPOSE TO KNOW THE RULES FOR WHAT WAS ACCEPTABLE. SHE WAS PLEASANT, IN FACT VERY RUDE & NOT HELPFUL AT ALL!! SHE SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO BE IN THIS POSITION. AND I CERTAINLY AM CONCERNED WITH HOW MANY OTHER APPLICATIONS SHE'S MADE MISTAKES ON.
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Erika Medina
Jun 10, 2022
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I had an appt at 10:30 and have been waiting for almost 1 hour without being properly assisted, would like to file formal complaint.
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Bobby
Jun 5, 2022
Your Comment
Had a terrible experience today. Appointments in the Sacramento region are very difficult to come by. We finally booked one 4 weeks out for today. In between booking the appointment, our sons team made the baseball playoffs. There is no mechanism to change the appointment, so we left the game early, and arrived 7 minutes into the -5 minute appointment. The staff at USPS refused to serve us, stating we missed the start time and the remaining appointments for the day were full. They told us we have to make a new appointment, but there are none available within 80 minutes in the next four weeks. A little bit of customer service would go a long way at USPS. Also, appointment times seem severely constrained in the Sacramento region.
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John McNamara
Apr 20, 2022
Your Comment
Post offices in 10579 zip not processing passports
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Sue
Apr 18, 2022
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I don't see any appointments for the next 3 weeks within 20 miles from my house. Why?
Sue (April 18, 2022)
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Daudi Henderson
Apr 14, 2022
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It seems that no post offices in NYC are doing passport acceptance. I made an appointment to my local post office in Far Rockaway 11691 for today, the appointment was made but when I got there, they said that they have no passport officers. Checking the surrounding areas, none of them are doing passports. Not even the James A. Farley main post office in Manhattan is not doing passports. I don't know how it expected for us to get our passports if no post offices are doing them. My next hope is to try and search for a post office in Connecticut.
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New Citizen
Apr 3, 2022
Your Comment
When applying for passport at a USPS office, the post office requires the original certificate of naturalization which is mailed to the Department of State and later returned via First Class Mail. My friend had her original certificate lost in mail. No one cared, no one helped – USPS blamed Department of State and vice versa – she had to pay $555 to get the new original from USCIS. After my unpleasant experiences with lost mail and several lost shipments via USPS, I am afraid that will happen to me too. My certificate is too important to me to let USPS handle it.
On the USCIS website
(https://www.uscis.gov/tools/how-do-i-guides/us-citizens/how-do-i-obtain-an-authenticated-copy-of-a-certificate-of-naturalization) it says: “You do not need to obtain a Certified True Copy if the U.S. government asks for a copy of your certificate for official U.S. government
business. For example, if the U.S. Department of State requests your Certificate of Naturalization when you apply for a U.S. passport, you may use a normal photocopy that has not been authenticated. You may use a normal photocopy of your certificate for legitimate U.S. government business.”
So thus, why does USPS insist on the original? To lose it, like most of my mail?
Can I use “Certified True Copy” issued by USCIS in place of the original?
Should I go directly to the Department of State with these questions and complaints?
  
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MONICA
Jun 8, 2022
Your Comment
That is correct. I just went to the post office in Malden, MA, and they asked me for the original certificate of naturalization, even though I had a photocopy for them as requested by the website. Also, I'm afraid it won't come because I need a certificate to apply for a new job. It costs $600 to obtain a new neutralization certificate.

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

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Ethan Daniel
Sep 16, 2021
Your Comment
Thanks Mrs. Collins! For your time,help and assistance for reissuing my driver's license
from the Secretary of State. I felt like I didn't have nobody else to turn to but your patience and understanding,Help me out a lot to get my CDL license sent to me..
Thanks for your help and consideration..
Ethan Daniel
Your Name
Leah M. Noel-Kayhan
Feb 7, 2023
Your Comment
Processing passport and gave wrong information and threatened that our passport would not be properly processed. Rude and unprofessional from the onset. She indicated that the current and valid passport was not valid as a form of Identification and requested a state ID or school issued ID. She insisted the information she gave to us on a printed photocopy from her office was more believable and official than the information printed from the State Department website. When I confronted her about the situation and incorrect information that she was providing, she threatened that she would not process the passport and that it would be returned. Causing us grief and trying to making us feel unsure about the process. She did not like to be questioned and became irate. We asked for a manager and she refused to escalate the issue. She sent me away even though I was paying for the passport and I was a parent presenting the paperwork.
She belittled me that I didn’t know the laws, and patronized me consistently throughout the process. Her customer service was atrocious and made the entire process difficult and unpleasant.
  
Your Name
OIG Webmaster
Feb 8, 2023
Your Comment
Thanks for your message. We are an independent agency of the Postal Service and unfortunately can't help with customer service issues. Please file a complaint directly with the Postal Service at 1-800-275-8777 or at https://usps.force.com/emailus/s/​. Just choose the tab marked "Personnel."

In reply to by Leah M. Noel-Kayhan (not verified)