tu2008

To exercise a little more patience. Many people report 5-6 weeks, some longer.

Finally , I received my NC ( 40 th day after receiving my passport) locator: 34….

And next gen design!

Oct. 4, 2021: received my naturalization certificate. 

Took my Oath today. It was a quick process. Glad to be done with it.

Sep. 23: Passport book arrived, next-gen passport regular book. Label on envelope says Charleston, SC.

On a slight drift topic I recently used my new US passport! Maybe traveling with it is not such a difference for those of you from the global west, but for me to drop the hassle factor of my old passport was great: to be able to visit two countries I would have needed individual visas for before and be able to use the e-gates at Heathrow was such a treat! In fact - even the fairly last minute decision of where to go without having to worry about getting visas on time was a pleasure. (Never mind the cost of the expedited passport was less than the two visas would have cost). 

Regular

Passport got delivered this morning.

And next gen design!

I guess crying about it was somewhat useful. 😂 I just got approved. No email to notify me, though. So the current timeline:
Aug. 17: Applied for US passport+book at metro Denver USPS, expedited processing, 1-2 express delivery, barcoded application from online wizard.
Aug. 20: Online status changed to “In Process” with 34 locator number. 
Aug. 23: Check cashed.
Sep. 21: Status changed to "Approved."
 

I can’t complain much since my immigration processes were pretty smooth and quick, but the passport process has been frustrating still. I considered reaching out to a member of Congress but my travel needs aren’t as urgent or immediate and I don’t want ask for help when someone else might need more urgent help with their passport compared to me. 

Applied at USPS 8/23
Expedited + express shipping paid
In process 8/31
Contacted Senator 9/18 with travel date of 10/1
They said wait till 4 days before travel 
 
9/21 Passport approved
Supposed to be here by 9/23
No email update. Manually checked today
File locator starts with 34 Charleston SC
Thank you all for your support and help.
 
 

Updated the above with approval for my wife.  Not shipped yet.

Applicants 1,  2 & 3 - applied on 6/8/21 at USPS --- Routine service
 
Status for all applicants:
 
1. Application Status: In Processing - 07/09/2021
2. Application Status: Approved - 09/13/2021 email at 09:07PM.
3. Application Status: Shipped - 09/14/2021 email at 1:02 AM with track  confirmation number by priority mail (we did not request). This includes the passport and card. The passport is expected to be received on 09/19 as per DOS message.  We should be expecting 3 mailings separately with Passport, Card & NC (9 mail packets in all).
Locator Number: 68 
 
The status from Processing to Approved status was consistent with the passport wait tracking (site) of first passports in 44.30 days (business).
 

I sure hope there’s a status change this week because if not, I’m probably going to involve my members of Congress on Monday. 

I am going to add two more applicants to my previous reply in order to keep the picture all together for Charleston, SC locator 34 processing center.
For the other applicants at other processing centers: please note that Charleston's processing center is one of the slowest processing centers, especially with the routine applications, so please be careful as you compare it to your own processing center at some other location or as you draw any conclusions.
 
Here are a few timelines with locator 34 in Charleston, SC and hopefully that will give you some idea of how long it is taking for approval at that location these days. I am providing the day of the application at USPS/library/county office and the day in which approval was indicated (if any). I am also including whether the application was expedited or routine service. All the approved applicants received their passports within 3 business days post approval date.

ROUTINE APPLICANTS:
Applicant 1)   Applicant applied on 4/2/21 at USPS --- Routine service --> approved 12 weeks later (June 25).
Applicant 2)  Applicant applied on 4/2/21 at USPS -- Routine Service --> approved 11 weeks later (June 18).
Applicant 3)  Applicant applied on 6/21/21 at a County/Library office -- Routine Service --> Approved 10 weeks and 5 days later, or approximately 11 weeks later on (September 4th).
Applicant 4)  Applicant applied on 6/29/21 at USPS -- Routine Service --> application is still in process after 11 weeks (Should wait for 1-2 weeks).
Applicant 5)  Applicant applied on 7/6/21 at USPS -- Routine Service -->  Application is still in process after 10 weeks (Should wait for 2-3 weeks).

EXPEDITED APPLICANTS:
Applicant 6)  Applicant applied on 6/10/21 at USPS -- Expedited Service --> Approved 4 weeks + 1 day later (July 9).
Applicant 7)  Applicant applied on 8/17/21 at USPS -- Expedited Service --> Application is still in process after 4 weeks. (Application is expected to be approved, I am guessing, within 1 week based on the previous expedited approved service).
Applicant 8 ) Applicant applied on 8/23/21 at USPS -- Expedited service --> Application is still in process after 3 weeks + 1 day. (I am guessing that this applicant should wait to the end of next week before any expectations of approval and hopefully they will be approved within that time frame).

Unknown expedited or routine service:
Applicant 9) Applicant applied on 8/21/21 at USPS -- unknow routine/expedited service --> Application is still in process after 3 weeks + 3 days.


I hope that answers your questions in regards to Charleston, SC's processing center.

Here's my timeline for my passport application. I applied along with my son (we're both first-time applicants).
 
June 21, 2021               Submitted our applications (Routine Service) at a local library in Houston, TX  
July 12, 2021                Checks cashed; Applications in process; locator number 34 (Charleston, SC Processing Center)
September 4, 2021      Incoming mail preview (USPS Informed Delivery) showed our passports were due to be delivered
September 7, 2021      Our passports (old style/regular size) were delivered in the mailbox (sent from Tucson)
September 11, 2021    My naturalization certificate and my son's birth certificate were returned in the mail (sent from Charleston)
 
I was aware of the processing delays, so I decided to remain patient and check the status at regular intervals -- July 30, August 30, etc. I never received any notifications throughout the process; hence, it was a pleasant surprise when I saw that the passports were ready on September 4 (after I'd checked the status on August 30). 
 
Thanks to everyone who has shared their experience. ☺️
 

My application is there, too, and you can check my signature for details. 

I am going to give you a few timelines with locator 34 in Charleston, SC and hopefully that will give you some idea of how long it is taking for approval at that location these days. I will provide the day of the application at USPS office and the day in which approval was indicated (if any). I will also type whether it was expedited or routine service. All the approved applicants received their passports within 3 business days post approval date.
 
Applicant 1)   Applicant applied on 4/2/21 at USPS --- Routine service --> approved 12 weeks later (June 25).
Applicant 2)  Applicant applied on 4/2/21 at USPS -- Routine Service --> approved 11 weeks later (June 18).
Applicant 3)  Applicant applied on 6/29/21 at USPS -- Routine Service --> application is still in process after 11 weeks (Should wait for 1-2 weeks).
Applicant 4)  Applicant applied on 7/6/21 at USPS -- Routine Service -->  Application is still in process after 10 weeks (Should wait for 2-3 weeks).
Applicant 5)  Applicant applied on 6/10/21 at USPS -- Expedited Service --> Approved 4 weeks + 1 day later (July 9).
Applicant 6)  Applicant applied on 8/21/21 at USPS -- unknow routine/expedited service --> Application is still in process after 3 weeks + 2 days.
Applicant 7)  Applicant (you) applied on 8/23/21 at USPS -- Expedited service --> Application is still in process after 3 weeks. (you should wait to the end of next weeks before any expectations of approval).

I hope that answers your questions in regards to Charleston, SC's processing center.

On Wednesday I emailed my congressman to see if he can do anything as I had a very important trip popped up out of nowhere on September, 9th. They responded back on Thursday and today I received a phone call from Western Passport Agency in regards to my application and if I can provide my card details to upgrade my application to expedited one. I was promised that my application will be looked at as soon as the charge go through.  Five minutes later after we ended conversation, money was taken from my bank account. Will update you on further deets.

Currently there are two  timelines I am seeing on people posting (reddit, visajourney and other places) with regards to expedited processing: 14-18 days and another is 28-35 days. This seems to indicate there is an office loading issue. Some offices are all caught from summer surge while others like Charleston are still languishing. I hope Charleston gets to similar processing time as Atlanta.

From where do you get that it is the slowest? I don’t see any where where this information is captured other than one or another’s perception. My own case was 4 weeks or so. I’ve seen other cases being the same. Looking forward to seeing your progress

I have been very impressed with processing times.
 
I submitted my passport application day after the oath ceremony on August 17th at the local city office.
Passport received today August 31st. So two weeks!!! 🙂
 
I paid the $60 for the expedited processing and $17.56 for 2 day delivery.

I was also impressed with the speed of the citizenship process. Applied on July 5th and approved and oath ceremony on August 16th.

Interview scheduled for October 6th in Lawrence, MA!
 
I'm so happy (and anxious)!!! ☺️