We applied for our passport in January and was told it would take four to six weeks to receive.  Like you, we had plenty of time since we weren't leaving until April.  After seven weeks had elapsed we called the probate office (where we filed) and they said we could check the status online.  When we did, it said we were not even in their system.  We repeatedly tried to call the passport office without any success and our emails also went unanswered.  Our probate office also did not receive a reply to their emails.  Finally they were able to give us a telephone number in New Hampshire where it was discovered they had mispelled both of our names and that is why it was not showing up.  After another week went by, my husband repeatedly called the passport office until he got through and they still could not confirm when we would receive our passports ... unless we opted to pay an additional $75.00 per passport to expedite.  We paid them 150.00 by credit card and received it via Fed Ex this past week.

We have a friend that applied the same time we did and they have not even cashed his original application check yet.  They had cashed ours in February. 

I've been hearing horror stories as well.

It is true that if you are traveling within 14 days, you will get bumped to the front of the line. Which is a relief, but the catch is that you need to make sure you contact them to get faster service...and keep contacting them.

As a last resort, you can appear in person at the your nearest Passport Office (not necessarily convenient since there are only about seven of them in the country), and have it processed same-day.

I learned the hard way last year when I had to travel to Chicago Passport Office on the day of my flight (the mix up was my fault, not theirs though). The process is an awful cattle call that requires you to arrive early and spend many hours just waiting. In the end, you will be rewarded with a brand new passport.

Most of the people waiting with me were first-time applicants...many children, and more than half had turned their paperwork more than 6 weeks earlier. A few had been assured only days earlier that the passport would arrive via FedEx before they left. One woman who was flying that night got a call from her husband while she was in line that it finally arrived.

I should also note that although the process at the Passport Office was rather confusing and extremely systematic, all the people working there were very helpful...and they were taking A LOT of abuse from customers.

Well, we are just about a week away from our trip to Ireland and still no passport. They cashed my check on Feb. 22nd. I called last friday and they said they would flag my case number "urgent." They told me to call in 72 hours to make sure the flag was actually processed. I called yesterday and they said it was. The man told me he expected I would receive my passport in time but couldn't guarantee anything. He said to call back Monday morning if I still hadn't got it. Beautiful. Another week of stress......

RTM,

A lot of people are having success at the last minute by calling their congressman's office and getting the staff there involved. Since you are getting desperate, it is worth a try. Otherwise, I would be calling them every hour on the hour.

I feel for you. I was sweating getting my passport on time too.

Michele

You can still have yours expedited if you call them and pay the additional fee of $75.00. 

well for anyone following my passport drama. I did call my congresswoman this morning as Michele suggested. Her staffer took my information and called me back within the hour. She said they were finalizing the passport and expected it to be sent out today. I checked the passport site a few minutes ago and it said my passport has been processed and mailed. Whew. So I should hopefully get it Monday or Tuesday. Talk about cutting it close. Thanks everyone for the tips and hopefully the word is spreading about the backlog with passport applications...

RTM

Congratulations!  Thanks for the update and I'm very happy to hear the good news about your passport.

Finally have my passport in hand. So we are ready to ship out on Friday. Thanks for all the adivce and help I'll let you know how it goes. Looks like I will have my tyoical luck with weather. Just as the sun and warm weather roll into NYC we are heading out and as we land in Ireladn the 3 weeks of gorgeous weather looks like it is coming to an abrupt end.