Do you reside in Colorado and need to apply for American passport? If so, there are three places you can go to when you need to get your travel document. First, you should calculate the number of days until your trip is scheduled to start. This will help you choose the processing method best suited to your travel plans.
Colorado Passport Offices
One option is to apply at a Colorado passport acceptance facility if your travel date is 14 days or more away. A request for regular processing takes three weeks or more and a request for expedited service takes two weeks or more. You will have to pay an additional fee to have your passport application processed but it is necessary if you need it quickly. There are many passport office locations including post offices, clerks of court, public libraries and other state, county, township, and municipal government offices. Of the more than 9,000 passport offices in the United States, nearly 120 can be found in Colorado. If one cannot be found in your county, it is highly probable that there is one located in a neighboring county.
After finding a passport office near you, take the completed but unsigned Application for Passport, Form DS-11 along with proof of citizenship, proof of identity, two passport photos and your payment so that a passport agent can witness the signing of the application and get it mailed for you. A recommendation of the US Department of State Passport Services is that you use an overnight delivery method when expediting your application. Another recommendation is to write the word “expedite” on the outside of the envelope.
Seattle Passport Agency Serving Colorado
If you need to travel within fourteen days, you can apply for your passport at the regional passport agency in Seattle that attends those who reside in Colorado. The appointment is made through an automated phone service. During peak travel seasons it can be difficult to get through so just keep trying. Once your appointment has been scheduled, you should arrive at the regional agency not more than fifteen minutes early with the completed application Form DS-11 and all the required documents, photos and payment. You take a number and then wait to be attended. If all your papers are in order you should receive your new passport the same day.
Rush Passport Expediting
Sometimes it is not possible for someone who lives in Colorado to travel to the Seattle agency. What do you do when you cannot travel to the regional agency but you must obtain your passport in a hurry? The only alternative is to apply through an expediter. You will still be required to take your application to a local passport office where an agent can witness the signing of it. However, instead of sending the application through the mail, you will mail the required application and documents to the expediter you choose. By using an expediting company you can get your passport in as little as the same day.
From the above list, you have learned that Colorado residents have three ways they can obtain a passport: an acceptance facility, a regional agency or a travel document expediting service. By applying at a local passport office you can expect to get your passport in two or three weeks. In can take longer depending on the demand at the time you apply. You can get your passport the same day at the regional agency. However, it requires you to travel to Seattle. Finally, an expediter can get your application processed in less than two weeks or, even, the same day if necessary.