kndrewa said:
thanks for the info guys.
i applied for my passport just over 3 months ago.
it is supposedly a 10-12 week turn around, but i have yet to see it.
i am headed to the canadian rockies to do some backpacking next week.
You're in Chicago, so you're in luck.
Go
here. I can't remember where on that site it's buried, but there's a listing for your local passport office. What you need to do is call the number for passport applications and make an appointment ASAP (believe me, do
not laze about on this) to have a temporary passport issued. You will have to go in
in person - with the receipt for the passport that's on order - and apply for it. Bring the same ID, etc. you used for the original application.
If they need a reason why, you're being sent out of the country on business and they haven't furnished the passport in time. Simple as that. A temporary passport is good for only one year and is absolutely a full and valid US passport.
Be sure to get an appointment that's early in the day. I've been through this rigamarole before, and the Los Angeles office closes at 2pm. My appointment was at 1pm, they saw me at 1.55, and couldn't issue a passport because the person who could do that had gone home for the day. I ended up flying out of the country at 6pm that day on my Irish passport then dealing with the situation once I was there; funnily enough, the embassy was a lot less bureaucratic about it (24-hour turnaround) than the office here.
Again, I can't stress this enough: get on this
now. Passport office appointments are hard to come by at the best of times.
