Need a second U.S. passport? It’s easier than we thought.
Jacob and I found ourselves in a tricky position this spring when we realized he needed to apply for a Swedish visa and a Ghanian one at the same time, and that his passport was expiring by the time we expect to move to Sweden, making the visa application essentially useless due to processing times.
We frantically searched for alternatives. Could we renew in time for Sweden, but not for Ghana? (not really) Would we be able to update the visa application later with a new passport number? (yes, you can)
We ultimately decided to look into getting a second U.S. passport for him because of a few specific criteria:
He was traveling within 14 days and still hadn’t received his passport back from the Ghanian embassy.
His passport expires in January 2024, but we wouldn’t be able to renew until he comes home to the U.S. in August, which makes it an awkward window of time if we somehow get an interview for the Swedish visa application sometime during the fall. Renewals can take 10-13 weeks for a routine renewal, and 7-9 weeks with expedited times.
He was applying for two visas within the same timeframe.
Even so, the U.S. state department website made it sound like it would be an act of God if we got the request approved. Turns out, it’s not scary or hard at all and here’s what we did:
Two weeks before travel date: Jacob called this number 1-877-487-2778 to make an appointment at the passport agency in Denver. Here’s more info on passport agency locations nationwide. If you try calling any earlier than 14 days before, even 15, they’ll tell you to call back later. He made an appointment for the following week, 7 days from travel date. The phone call took about 15 minutes in total.
Days leading up to appointment date:
He went to a camera store and got a professional passport photo. Quality matters, because the one we took at home was rejected! No shadows, no glasses or hats, no smiling, not too dark, and completely unedited.
He wrote, printed, and signed a statement to explain why he needed a separate passport. There are templates online, as well as a very generic one here.
He got his original birth certificate. Turns out this isn’t needed at all— his scanned original passport was plenty proof.
He filled out Form DS-11. DO NOT SIGN IT. You need to sign it at the passport center in front of an officer, otherwise you’ll have to start over.
Day of appointment: We arrived 15 minutes early and found the windowless first lobby absolutely crammed with people. We were convinced it was going to take 6 hours.
An officer checked appointment confirmations for each person entering and checked them off a list. If anyone approached without an appointment (there were plenty), he turned them away and told them to call the appointment number or apply for renewal online. Jacob then went in to a second holding area/lobby, where he waited for about an hour. He spoke to a passport officer for a couple minutes when it was his turn, then they told him to return at 2pm (about 4 hours later) to pick up his second passport! Success! We had plenty of time to go fika.
Later in the day of appointment: At 3pm, a bit later than they expected it to be completed by, he had his second passport in hand.