PSA: New passport finally arrived.

[yonder]

I submitted an application for a new passport on February 21 of this year. That would have been a few weeks before the State Department virtually shut down the processing of applications due to Covid. Originally, the turn-around time was supposed to be 6-8 weeks. Subsequent inquiries to their website were met with just an "expect significant delays".

I was beginning to wonder if something had happened to it along the way. So far, it's just the booklet but I expect the card and my original documentation any day. 17 weeks to the day after applying, I received it and post this only as a yardstick so others might gauge when theirs might show up.

Although we have no travel plans, this is good news and somewhat like getting ones very first car with that new found sense of freedom. Yippee!

[Siwsan]

1. I've been waiting for my renewed drivers license since April 20

They haven't even cashed the check, yet. Via email I was told they are running over 6 weeks behind but still. I can't even get an appointment at the Secretary of State before August 6. That puts me a week past when the renewal moratorium expires. I've been planning on upgrading to the Real ID, enhanced license with a veteran's insignia so I have to go in, in person, anyway but that coincided, inconveniently, with the shut down.

[yonder]

2. I wonder if they would offer an extension past the moratorium once the appointment is scheduled?

All of these delays and changes in routine kind of suck while I count our lucky stars by remaining Covid free.

[Siwsan]

3. I''m going to print off the email confirmation for the appointment

And the emails I sent to the Sec of State in which I included the date I sent the check. And, as it gets closer and no new license arrives, I'll email them again, specifically alerting them to the situation. They are really good at fast responses.

My worry is, I had another piece of mail I sent off from this same post office, and it took almost a MONTH to arrive its destination.

[BannonsLiver]

4. Congrats

I got my first one in about 4 weeks. When I renewed 10 years later about the same time so it does indeed look like they are having some major slowdowns.

The bad news is American tourists are likely going to be viewed as pariahs around the world until we either drastically cut our numbers or there is a vaccine. I suspect that most countries will have American specific bans or quarantine periods for US travelers making it hard to travel internationally unless you have lots of time on your hands.

[yonder]

6. Agreed. The ugly American is only getting uglier.

Hopefully after January, we can begin rebuilding that image.

[Initech]

5. I was supposed to be going to Vancouver on March 28th.

I paid extra to have my passport expedited so I could get it renewed on time. Looks like I won't be using it for the foreseeable future.

[yonder]

7. You did get it though?

My understanding is they shut down the expediting process the first part of March. In my case, I don't know if using it would've made a difference.

Unless absolutely necessary, we see no travel on the horizon either.

[Initech]

9. Yeah I got it like the week before I was supposed to leave.

By then everything had been shut down and the border closed. Spent 3 hours on the phone with Air Canada to cancel my flight.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

8. Makes me very happy my current passport is good

until April 2025.

On the other hand, my DL is due to renew in September. And with that I'll be dealing with the "Real ID" requirement. I'm sorry, but the ONLY people that need my social security number are either the Social Security administration itself, or someone who might need to report financial stuff to the IRS. Like my bank. The drivers license bureau in my state? No.

And from what I can tell, to get a "permission to drive" kind of license STILL requires my SS#. It's almost enough to make me give up driving entirely.

[yonder]

10. I hear you on the SS number stuff.

Just this week I called our local power company to make them aware of a neighbor's tree growing into some 3-wire overhead power lines serving our block. They wanted the last 4 digits of MY SS number to complete their service ticket. Not a chance. I just said "I'm trying to do the good thing here by letting you know of a potential problem that will eventually affect the neighborhood. If that's not good enough, then goodbye."

Everybody wants a piece of what's not theirs. I'm not playing.