Passport Turnaround Time

I knew that if I wanted to make the mission trip for January 19th, I had to scramble to get a passport. Mine was expired. I just got my passport back after 10 days, no expedited shipping fee. Here's how I did it:

1) I already had a passport, so I clicked on "Fill out DS-82 online" link to generate a neatly printed form to print out and mail in. The computer generated type makes it possible for the State Dept. to bar code scan or OCR the form, rather than type it in. Just like on tax forms, I made sure to add my signature to the bottom, and included two properly cropped 2" photos.
(any number of "mailbox etc" type places will take your photo for a few bucks and a few minutes)

If you lost your passport, or need to apply for your first passport, go here:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_830.html
You WILL have to apply in person if you're not renewing.

2) Sent the application via overnight ExpressMail, which cuts a 7 day mailing time down to 1 day, saving me a week for the cost of about $15. (If i were to do it again, I would avoid the post office lines and do it via UPS overnight at Staples or Fedex overnight at Kinkos)

My advice is to move on this BEFORE Christmas. If you get your passport before the 19th, great. If you don't, you'll have it in time for our March trip, or any of the other dozen Mexico trips. If you have ANY interest in missions, don't put it off getting your passport any longer...if an opportunity arises, you don't want to let the lack of a passport ground you. --Vu