I didn't need that money or vacation anyway

and have mom or dad or a friend back in the u.s. hold a photocopy so they can fax it to you if necessary (if all your shit is stolen or lost).

that's what i was always told, anyway. i lost my passport in london though and got a new one at the american embassy without needing a photocopy, which i had. but this was in 2003 before they implemented these new rules. i have no idea how tough it would be to get a replacement now but i assume they still allow for replacements for travelers who lose them overseas.

 

pack a photocopy of your passport in your suitcase on top of leaving a photocopy with a family member/friend ... you lose the one on your person, second copy is in luggage within reach before having to call home. That is, if your luggage wasn't lost by the airline. lol.

 

Sorry to hear this. Call the hotline. Good luck.

For everyone else out there? If you need to RENEW a passport, follow the on-line instructions at the State Department website then OVERNIGHT with OVERNIGHT return and pay the extra $60. I went to Mazatlan this weekend and with the overnight delivery I got my renewal back in one week total. I was truly amazed.

You do need a passport to return from Mexico.

 

Crappy situation, but don't ever trust the government to do something in 12 weeks what should take them 8-10. And don't ever expect to get the answer you need from the first person (or second or third) person that you talk to. Yeah, it sucks, but that is how government has worked for the 20 years I've been dealing with it.

 

Government is not evil. It's just full of stupid, apathetic fuckers living off our money.

 

The backlog's never been worse, and the Feds can't/won't upgrade staffing numbers sufficiently to deal with it.

Your current collection of government "service" whores . . . NOT at work . . .

 

Might not be a wise idea. The U.S. official types your name into his computer and discovers that your passport could not have been lost or stolen in Mexico because you surrendered it 12 weeks ago and the new one has not yet been issued. He says, "You've lied to us! There's no way, on the basis of fraudulent information like that, that we'll give you temporary documents so you can re-enter the U.S."

 

Rusty: My wife echoed others and said that to call a Rep's/Senator's office. But, she said, call the one closest to you and not the DC offices.

 

Today's update: Absolutely nothing. My wife has made more calls, to more people, who made more calls and e-mails to others on our behalf. But we still have no FedEx overnight tracking number (apparently that's when you know you're close -- it means they've finished it and it's on its way) and no idea if/when we will be receiving one.

She's making plans to travel to Chicago to apply for a brand new passport in person. But she wants to do that Friday, because we're scheduled to leave at 6 a.m. Tuesday. She's afraid to wait until Monday because if something goes wrong at that point, we're SOL. But we've been told the Chicago office won't accept walk-ins (and no appointments are available) until 48 hours before, so she's afraid she'll go up there Friday and be turned away. But she can't go Saturday or Sunday and Monday, as I said, is cutting it too close.

I hate our government.

 

At least you're not alone in your anger and misery.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/07/washington/07passport.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1181214146-Tf4NaUdoZHUMdNs7i4bedw

 

You're not alone on either coast:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-passport7jun07,0,837071.story?coll=la-headlines-business