Passports and the Postal Service
Because of the pandemic, the U.S. Postal Service had to suspend walk-in passport application services and require appointments be made in advance. Add in a drop in international travel, again because of the pandemic, it’s no real surprise USPS experienced a 34 percent drop in passport application revenue from fiscal year 2019 to 2020.
Still, we wanted to see if there were opportunities to improve the Postal Service’s overall passport application acceptance operations. Our recent audit report discussed how operations were generally compliant with requirements set by the State Department, which processes and approves all applications. On the other hand, we found USPS could improve both quality and effectiveness related to appointment scheduling, data accuracy, coordination with State Department stakeholders, and performance goals.
For instance, we noted Postal Service employees sometimes improperly blocked appointment times or used an incorrect email format when reserving appointments on behalf of customers. We also found customers blocked large numbers of appointments improperly. Why did this happen? Because there were no mechanisms in place to detect or prevent it. We also identified at least four State Department reports on passport operations that could provide USPS management with additional insight in identifying areas of improvement. Management had not been aware of these reports.
We recommended, among other things, more coordination with the State Department and enhancing USPS performance metrics for passport operations. Implementing these operational improvements in a timely manner will be important as walk-in services have recently resumed in select areas at the discretion of local facility management.
Have you made a passport appointment recently at a post office? How did it go?
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I have done my passport application at the post office in El Paso Texas and I didn't had enough money for an large envelope and I ended up mailing it in a small white stamp envelope with application and documents attached and fold it neater to fit in the envelope and I cannot get in touch with no one change it or stop it from going out to the state passport office and I can't even cancel the order or seeing about getting my application and documents attached back to re do it right so I may have to get my money refund back by having my bank depute charge for my money order and report my identity stolen
Sue (April 18, 2022)
On the USCIS website
(https://www.uscis.gov/tools/how-do-i-guides/us-citizens/how-do-i-obtain-an-authenticated-copy-of-a-certificate-of-naturalization) it says: “You do not need to obtain a Certified True Copy if the U.S. government asks for a copy of your certificate for official U.S. government
business. For example, if the U.S. Department of State requests your Certificate of Naturalization when you apply for a U.S. passport, you may use a normal photocopy that has not been authenticated. You may use a normal photocopy of your certificate for legitimate U.S. government business.”
So thus, why does USPS insist on the original? To lose it, like most of my mail?
Can I use “Certified True Copy” issued by USCIS in place of the original?
Should I go directly to the Department of State with these questions and complaints?
from the Secretary of State. I felt like I didn't have nobody else to turn to but your patience and understanding,Help me out a lot to get my CDL license sent to me..
Thanks for your help and consideration..
Ethan Daniel
She belittled me that I didn’t know the laws, and patronized me consistently throughout the process. Her customer service was atrocious and made the entire process difficult and unpleasant.