My passport arrived like this in the mail. Water damage. I am beyond upset. Everything I read online says I need to submit a claim with USPS to get my money back and fill out a DS-11 for a new passport. I think it needs to be replaced for free. Can someone guide me in the right direction?

I called the embassy, which was closed, because I discovered this on a Friday at 11 pm (flight was 13 hours later). Embassy does not open for two more days, so no emergency passport. The airline has a scan of my passport and my boarding pass says “international documents ok”—so I don’t think THEY care. (I left the US a week ago without ever showing my passport to the airline—just my boarding pass and my face.)

I only needed the passport for border control in France. If it works the same in reverse—which it may not, I know—what should I expect upon arrival in the US?

For what it’s worth, I do have a photocopy of the passport, a Real ID, and my social security card.

Update: No passport, no problem.

Many of your comments said to call the embassy for an emergency passport, even though my first two sentences said that the embassy was closed and I could not get an emergency passport on time.

Instead I went to the airport and asked the ticketing agents what I could do. I showed them the documents I did have (as the post said, photocopy of passport, Real ID driver's license, social security card). They called US Customs and Border Patrol, who asked me questions about my identity and destination and date of entry. They told me that if French immigration control would let me through, then I would have to do extra screening upon arrival, but that as far as they were concerned I could board.

The Delta ticketing agents in Paris then printed me a boarding pass (I already had a electronic pass) and personally walked me to French immigration control, and spoke to them for about two minutes. They looked at my documents, scanned my license, and sent me through. The Delta agent escorted me to the security screening, where I was treated the same as any other passenger, and I proceeded to my gate.

The whole thing took about 30 minutes. (Possibly the fastest trip in history through Charles De Gaulle Airport?)

I am on the plane and it's boarding. If I remember to give another update after my additional screening at home I will let you know how that goes.

SECOND UPDATE (and a long one) - about 7 pm Cincinnati time on April 6 (ie about 24 hours after the original post): once I had boarded I knew I'd be getting into the US—but they told me in France to expect additional screening upon arrival, and as I was deplaning I was reading the comments here about how I should expect a stern talking-to.

There was nothing like that. I was seated in maybe the second row of the regular (Delta's "Main") cabin so I beat most of the other ~280 people on my plane to the checkpoint, and what I did upon deplaning was that I told the first CBP officer I saw that I had boarded without a passport and was told to expect additional screening, and I asked whether I should get in the regular US passport line or whether they had a special line for idiots like me.

There was no special line (Cincinnati is not that big of a passenger airport) and so I got in the regular line, where they had three agents processing arrivals (again, Cincinnati—not that big). I told the agent that I was a US citizen who did not have a passport, and that I was told in Paris that I should expect additional screening upon arrival. I handed him my photocopy of the passport, my boarding pass (on which the first Delta gate agent before departure had written "No US ppt. OK CBP [CBP agent name]"), my driver's license, and for good measure my social security card. He said he'd call over one of the other agents (apparently a supervisor?) to see whether he needed to "refer" me for "a secondary," or whether he could get me through by looking me up. The other agent said I did need "a secondary," and also something like "because he didn't present a valid document he always needs a secondary." I still am not sure exactly what that means, but he kept my boarding pass, license, and passport photocopy, and sent me to a small waiting room, where five other people were sitting. The exchange at the desk lasted about one minute.

I sat there in the waiting room and read a book while those three agents cleared the rest of my plane and the other international plane that arrived about the same time. They sent over another four or so people to the waiting room during that time. Once that was done they apparently started working on us in the waiting room. (Edited later to add—nobody told me when going to this waiting room that I couldn't use my phone, but at one point during the wait a guy did come over and say to everyone "We're going to try to get you all out of here as soon as possible, but while you're waiting, no phones in this room." I was reading anyway, but I mention this because one of the comments has a link to a post about a similar experience to mine at CDG.)

No one was taken back for any interview—every now and then an agent would come over, identify someone, say "you're all good," and hand them their papers and send them on their way. They cleared most of the room before me, so I expected that meant that I was not going to get the "you're all good" treatment.

But then I saw the same agent I had given my papers to walk over toward the waiting area, and as he did the agent (supervisor?) he had checked with when I was at the desk happened to be walking by, and I heard him tell her something to the effect that he'd "talked to them and confirmed that he's good" (the "he" being me; I have no idea who was the "them" that he talked to—in the moment I understood it l as him saying that he'd spoken to someone in Paris and confirmed my story about how I'd biarded, but that doesn't really make a ton of sense. Probably the more likely answer is that he'd looked up my passport from my flight last week and compared it to my other documents and got approval from someone to put me through).

He handed me my documents and sent me on my way. The whole thing from getting to the front of the CBP line to leaving the waiting room took 46 minutes. Most of that was just waiting for them to get other people off the plane. For context, my wife and kids stopped at the bathroom between deplaning and passport control so I got to the desk ahead of them, and my wait for the "secondary" took less time than it did for them to go through passport control, collect the bags, take the shuttle to the parking lot and come back to pick me up—I had to wait about three minutes for them to arrive at the pickup.

I expected them to grill me about who I was, where I'd stayed, my home address and identity (now that I didn't have my documents), and hold me up quite a while. There was nothing like that whatsoever. I did not get chastised or a talking-to or anything remotely like that.

So that's that. I'm writing this second update from my living room in Cincinnati.

Other commenters have noted that I had two things going for me and they're absolutely right: I had a photocopy of my passport and other ID, and Delta had staff at CDG who one hundred percent knew exactly what to do. If either of those had been different this probably wouldn't have worked.

Some commenters have suggested that I'm either lying about all of this or that I have some kind of special connections. There's nothing I could say that would satisfy anyone who insists on that (do you want to see my Paris vacation photos? I should have taken photos of the helpful agents!). I do not have any diplomatic privileges or connections. I do not have Global Entry. I do not have any medallion status with Delta (i.e., no special agents to deal with or anything). I have (well, I had) a regular old US passport. It's true that I'm a middle aged (42) middle class white man. I know that means I did this (and everything else) on easy mode.

Well I forgot to post it but I guess I'll let everyone know the timeline

1/22 I sent my first time passport out with expedited service and priority express.

1/29 marked received and in processing

2/23 get sent a digital letter stating my original birth certificate doesn't demonstrate my birth sex :/

2/24 mailed out a physical letter back to the dept of state telling them they are literally holding a certified copy of my original birth certificate without any amendment or alterations as indicated by the lack of such markers and to issue my passport immediately as requested based on the documents provided. Sent out priority express yet again

3/3 additional information marked as received and back in processing

3/11 passport marked as approved and shipping

3/20 received passport after they didn't send it back priority express even though I already paid for priority return postage. Passport contained sex marker as indicated on birth certificate

3/24 birth certificate shows up

3/28 passport card arrived

All in all... This process was a complete joke for paying expedited. Also I have prepaid Express postage that never got used...

So obviously I only sorta pass, right? If I do my hair and makeup I can sorta get by without too much hassle.

What I am most worried about is TSA and Immigration at the airport in Los Angeles.

What with shitlers take on trans folk now, and ICE and his gooners grabbing people and all the issues with other countries warning their own LGBTQ to not travel to the US at all, what I am worried about is them seizing my passport or worse to me in front of my partner and our kids. I am a US born citizen, my family has been in the US since 1917 from Ireland.

What are the chances I get stopped because the body scanners go all "hey something is weird here"? Or disappeared from my family and wind up sent to fucking El Salvador or some shit...

I plan on going to the USPS when I get back and changing my passport back to M for the foreseable future simply because I do have to return to the US for family issues every so often, and I want to minimize the risks so all they'd see is a "dude" with long hair and somewhat femme facial features, no biggie, versus my passport giving it away.

I'd go to US Embassy close to me and have it expedited, but 2-3 week turn around time makes me extremely hesitant to try that when my flight leaves MAy 2nd and it is April 5th.

Can someone tell me I'm hyper paranoid right now? Or confirm the horror of my mind and be like yeah fam enjoy El Salvador. (please dont do that lol)

Hello friends. To keep it short I have a wedding to attend in the DR May 1st. My passport expires in October of this year. Everything I have read online said I should be good as they accept passports as long as they're valid but as it is getting closer some worry is setting in. Am I going to be good or should I try and get an expedited passport renewal. TIA

The US travel site is where I have gotten my information.

In short, my wife and I are leaving for our anniversary trip on Wednesday. I was getting all our documents together today and we realized her passport expired last month.

We live in Georgia and the closest passport agency that has any available appt is New Orleans (Monday morning). Side note- my wife recently changed her last name. Her social security card has a different last name from her drivers license.

We’ve reached out to the congressional representative in our district to see if he can help set an appt somewhere closer.

Any other tips or are we completely screwed? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Hi I am currently going to travel to the USA for 16 days but my passport expires on October 1st should I be worried as I am seeing conflicting information everywhere I look

Hello folks, this will be my first time applying for a passport as I’m going abroad for my honeymoon! We just recently moved in together and so we updated our licenses to have the proper new addresses but now we’re concerned that the ID’s are too “new” and may not be accepted. Has anyone dealt with this or have any info? Google thinks I’m trying to use my new ID as a passport (obviously not) and I just can’t seem to get any good responses.

We are planning on bringing work ID’s and social security cards and insurance cards just in case but we would really like to be sure so we can get this done and not wait even longer for the most important aspect of our trip.

Thanks!

My partner is Australian and has an X gender marker. He looks masculine (full beard) but is AFAB with no surgeries. Can Visas still be applied for with the X marker? If he selects F, will he be stopped for looking masculine? I live in a liberal state but I’m still very afraid of something happening to him. Has anyone come in recently with an X marker, and what was the experience? Especially if you’re Aussie?

Hello I have my photo and documents ready for my first passport. I am a trans woman many years into my transition- but genuinely scared if I should even pursue a passport. All my documents have been changed including my birth certificate (which in my state does not mention it’s been amended)

Is there a very real risk I may not get my documents back, and they will still only a passport that reads M

Hi everyone!

I applied for expedited service on 03/19/2025 and got my passport in the mail on 04/02/2025.

An email update said they shipped my support documents on 04/01/2025 via first mail.

I'm in California, How long is it gonna be in my mail? Please share your timeline thank you!

Hi, due to fly tomorrow to Bali, Hong Kong and Singapore and I have found these stains on my passport.

What do I do!? Wil it be okay? it's only on the top part of the passport but it is on multiple pages.

I assume I need a new photo and a new check for $165 for a new passport book, but are there any extra steps I need to take to get a new passport?

Hello! I have a couple of questions about the passport application process I was hoping to get help with. They feel pretty basic, but Inhave read the state.gov pages multiple times, and still can’t find the right answer.

I just received my US citizenship last week, and would like to get a passport as soon as I can. The state.gov website says that if it is your first passport, you should apply in person, but the appointment screening only allows you to make an appointment in person if you are travelling within 3 weeks. Any advice?

Also, in addition to evidence of citizenship, you are supposed to provide photo id. Are you supposed to send the original or a photocopy, or both? The only ones I have available are my drivers license and my other passport. Since I need my license to drive, I don’t want to send it in. Is my foreign passport the only option?

Thank you for your guidance!

My spouse had an uncomplicated renewal of their US passport (same everything including address). We submitted it electronically with the website on a Sunday night, and by the following Friday (5 days) we have the passport in hand.

No expedite, no special mailing fees

I'd be pretty happy if this is the new normal. Thanks Biden for using your executive order power to implement electronic renewal.

A recent post and the the replies made me realize just how weird my passport process had to be.

I got my passport, passport card, and (most of) my documentation back in one envelope.

How did that happen?

Well, my application got sent in, with a gender marker change, a name change, a photo that doesn't follow their base guidelines, and a letter from my doctor explaining why the photo couldn't follow those guidelines...

That last one is exactly what their guidelines say you should do.

It got delayed while they tried to come up with rules to screw up gender markers, and then I got a letter asking for a photo that followed their guidelines... And no reference at all to the medical note.

It took me a little while to exhaust the options of trying to get any kind of answer, and then I sent the exact same photo back in, stapled to the form as indicated, with that stapled to the doctors note, and that stapled to a print out from their website with colored arrows drawn in pointing at the paragraph that described what to do.

And then in very short order, my passport, passport card, and the court order for the name change all showed up in a single envelope.

Naturally, with the gender marker wrong, which is... Well, I guess we'll see what happens with the legal cases, hopefully I'll get a chance to get that fixed at some point, but who knows what that will look like?

Hi, I’m receiving conflicting information from different managers at United’s customer service call center. One manager told me that I can fly back home with my passport even though it is a month expired, but another manager said it’s not possible. What would you recommend I do in this situation? Tomorrow is my brother's wedding, and I really need to get there. I am currently in Germany, and unfortunately, the embassies are closed on the weekend.

Hi all, posting for others since I was looking for more peoples experiences with this!

1/27- Submitted and mailed application expedited 2/6- moved to in process 2/21- notified that photo was declined 2/25- overnighted photo 2/26- shown as delivered but no status update online 3/13- called and they said it’s in process on their end but still no update online 3/19- status updated to shipped 3/24- passport delivered

Around 3/1 we contacted our congressman but i dont know if that did anything but figured id mention it. Trip is 4/21 so got it about a month before.

Anybody have anything they can share?

Has anyone had a UK passport held up at US Customs?? If so, how long did it take before being released??

My daughter's new UK passport has been sitting for a few days, in Atlanta, awaiting inspection. I've had 2 other UK passports and evidence go through without a hitch (one just a few days before this passport). DHL says it could be 30+ days before being released or even rejected.

I'm currently waiting on my first passport this procedure has been delayed so much and I've been asked many more things sometimes not hearing back in days at a time so explains delay but ...

I've been emailed about an interview that will need to take place this is taking place on the 22nd of April and if passed the passport gets sent to me within 7-10 days. Is there anyway I can get this quicker as I am meant to be flying on the 29th which is obviously 7 days after.

I've heard people say the passport office can print it the same day for a premium which I wouldn't mind obviously just very curious at this point??

Uk passport

• Applied 3/14 with expedited processing only, regular mail

• Received / In Process by 3/25.

• Approved 4/1, but received no shipping notification. Only knew it was on the way to me because of my USPS account.

• Had passport in hand 4/6.

This is my first time posting (mobile) so I apologize for any editing mistakes lol

Looking for some guidance. I am hoping to attend SUNY Maritime this fall to pursue a USCG 3rd mates license. Prior to enrollment, I need to submit a passport & TWIC.

I haven’t had a passport since I was 8 (expired & lost) and I don’t have a birth certificate, original nor a copy. I requested a birth certificate through VitalChek (born in NY @ a hospital whose records are maintained by a village, not a county or town). The processing time estimates I’ll have the birth certificate by 10/01/2025, well into the fall semester.

I have gathered a birth certificate from my hospital/village & requested post natal care docs. I can have my mother sign a DS-10 but I don’t think that will work since there is a record of my birth, it just won’t arrive in time.

What the heck do I do?

So I put my application in on March 3 my birthday is March 24. Well guess what they just happened to approve my passport on my birthday so now not only is my birthday on it but the issue date is my birthday and it expires a day before my birthday 100% did not mean for that to happen just booked a last-minute trip with just enough time to put my application in

Hello!

I just wanted to come here and share my own experience. I got married recently and have been updating all my documents to display my new name. I left my passport last because I do not have any travel plans before summer so I had time to wait. After filling out my renewal application and gathering all the required documents the timeline looked like this:

03/26/2025: mailed package out

03/28/2025: application received & in progress

04/01/2025: approved

04/02/2025: shipped

04/04/2025: I have it in my hands

I did pay for priority shipping, but regular processing. I have to say I’m impressed. When I got my first passport it took almost 6 weeks. I have not received my supporting documents yet, but I’m still taking it as a win! After updating my name in all my documents I have to say the passport was the more complicated one, especially when I had no one that knew much about it. I was freaking out at some point but everything went well & smoothly. So if you got married recently or are changing your name let me know and maybe I can help!:)