I got my new U.S. passport!

[DFW]

10. Things appear to have returned to normal.

My last passport was expiring in January 2021, right in the first Covid wave. I was in the States in the summer of 2020 and tried to get my passport renewed. No way. I was told by State that it would be 18 months. Passport agencies in Boston and DC were shut, and the ripoff super-fast agencies closed as well.

The State Department in DC recommended I go to the US consulate in Frankfurt and apply for a one year temporary emergency passport, for which there would be no waiting. So, when I got back to Germany, I called the consulate and asked what I needed to bring. I did all that, and went down there on the appointed day. When the case worker saw my application, he asked me why I didn’t apply for a normal renewal? I said I couldn’t afford to wait 18 months. He looked surprised and asked who said anything about 18 months? I said I was told that by the State Dept. in Washington. He said, well nobody told them. He said if I wanted a normal renewal, it would take three to four weeks. I said, fine, I’ll do that. In fact, I had my new passport in twelve days—issued in Washington, delivered in Düsseldorf.