10years

I forgot to add that my new passport was marked as issued on January 25. And the name of the agency is the National Passport Office.

As I said, I paid $130, which is regular service. In my case, that was for less than a month. But I did send the package by regular priority mail. It also came back by regular priority mai.

Update: Bottom line: Jan 02: mailed passport renewal application. Jan 29: "received" new passport. Less than 4 weeks. Details: 1/2: mail padded envelope by regular priority mail at post office, taking advantage of USPS's Label Broker service. Create a label, take the QR code to the post office, they print the gummy label for free and stick it on your package. Include the $130 check for 52 pages. 1/5 Bureau of Consular Affairs' Philadelphia office receives my envelope. BCA is often accused of being slow, but they were very prompt in cashing my check. 1/8 receive email stating: Application Status: In Process The U.S. Department of State has received your application for your passport book on 01/08/2024. We're now reviewing your application and supporting documents. 1/26 8:09 am receive email stating: Application Status: Approved The U.S. Department of State approved your application for your passport book. We're now printing your passport book and preparing to give it to you. 1/26 2:05 pm receive email stating: Application Status: Shipped The U.S. Department of State has shipped your passport book on 01/26/2024. We sent your passport book to you using Priority Mail. Input tracking number into USPS' website and it shows that it has received the new passport. 1/26 4:06 pm receive email stating: Application Status: In Process The U.S. Department of State has received your application for your passport book on 01/08/2024. We're now reviewing your application and supporting documents. Note that the last three emails all received on the same day. 1/30 receive new passport in my mailbox. It was out for delivery on 1/29 but never made it. 1/31 old passport sent by first-class mail. 2/5 old passport received.

Update: Bottom line: Jan 02: mailed passport renewal application. Jan 29: "received new passport". Details: 1/2: mailed padded envelope by regular priority mail at post office, taking advantage of USPS's Label Broker service. Create a label, take the qr

Thanks everyone for your replies. To clarify some points: I already purchased a 30-day roundtrip air ticket using the old passport number. I don't have an extension of stay with a reentry permit. I will try to enter visa exempt. Apparently the passport agency in the US sends you only the new passport first. It returns the old passport and any supporting documents at a later date. Does anyone know how long for the old passport to follow the new one? The old passport might not make it on time for my departure. BTW, i asked my congressman to help me get a two-year extension on my old passport because I paid for 10 years but got only 8 years of use out of it due to the pandemic. But now the law doesn't allow any extensions. I couldn't get a discount on my new passport either. This isn't as far-fetched as it sounds since my hotels and airlines, with the exception of AirAsia and Scoot, automatically extended the expiration dates of my membership cards and air mileage. And the US passport agency was frustratingly slow in renewing passports, causing travelers much grief. It should have given everyone an extra year or two.

My renewal application for a US passport is currently in process. I will enter Thailand visa exempt at Swampy after I get it. It will be completely blank. When I get to the IO at Thai immigration, how will he link the new passport to the old one? Do I need to show the expired passport along with the new one? Before I left Thailand, I managed to get the overstay stamp printed my old passport for arriving one day earlier than planned. Will the IO adorn my brand new passport with that dreaded stamp? I already purchased my air ticket online. I had to input my passport number and expiration date in the personal details section. Since I don't know the new number and expiration date, I put in my old number and made the expiration date for 2025. When I get the new passport, should I call the airline or just update the information when I check in online?

Is there an arriving fast lane at DMK? Where?

Note that there are fast lanes for departing and arriving pax at Swampy. The exit fast lane is now at the far right end. Think it's bigger too.

I was wondering about this. The last time I arrived, the IO at the door of the fast lane blocked my way and tried to send me elsewhere upon seeing my business class boarding pass. But he let me in when he saw I was over 70.

In the old days you had to pay to depart through the priority lane, so the check-in girl would give you a voucher so you wouldn't have to pay. The IOs collected the vouchers so they could charge back the airlines. Now your boarding pass will say business class on it.

Suvarnabhumi this week for a flight leaving the same day.

Male IO took my passport, flipped through it, after awhile took my fingerprints and photo, then called over another IO who escorted me to a tiny desk, stamped the dreaded overstay notice in my passport and let me through with a big smile. Neither asked me anything. No fine. Question: Getting the overstay stamp is no big deal as I'm getting a new passport anyway. But do they make some entry in their computer system that marks me as an overstayer for life?

To put it simply, the departure date on my plane ticket is one day after the date stamped in my passport.

After reading the comments, I began to harbor second thoughts about trying to fake my way on the plane. The US Embassy was letting me go there on a walk-in basis since mine was an emergency case, but then I got a email that all appointments were canceled due to a possible mass protest. Then I hit upon a plan that I was surprised wasn’t mentioned here. That is to leave a day earlier. I was considering buying a new, one-way ticket to Bangkok and worrying about any refund later. But it turns out you can “change” your flight on the website. I’ve never had to make a voluntary flight change before so didn’t know this could be done online. The website walks you through the process step-by-step. The advantages of doing this is that you can keep the same booking number with all the history of payments etc and any refunds are automatically credited to the new payment. The extra cost of changing the return leg of my trip was almost the same as what I paid for the original roundtrip ticket! I hoped that since moving my passport expiration one day out on the AirAsia website allowed me to continue check-in, bringing my flight date one day up would also allow me to check in, but couldn’t be sure about that until I tried checking in. And it worked. I was able to get my boarding pass. At the airport, I bypassed the counter and proceeded directly to immigration. At the departure waiting room, no one checked my credentials like before. Upon boarding, a ground staff used a handheld device to scan your boarding pass. Seems like any red flag shows up on the scanner. He asked the older farang guy in front of me how long he was going to be in Bangkok. When the man said he was staying overnight and flying home the next day, the staff let him go through to the plane. So I passed the first hurdle – leaving Indonesia. The second was entering Thailand. I would have to be scrutinized by immigration at Don Mueang, which is notorious for giving those with multiple visits a hard time. And this was going to be my 4th VE this year. Surprisingly, absolutely no questions asked. I breezed through my second hurdle. What I didn’t know was that I had inadvertently created a new hurdle. By returning to Bangkok a day early, I had extended my planned 30-day VE stay to 31 days.

What happens if you enter visa exempt and leave by air on the 31st day of your stay (counting your day of arrival as Day 1). Will the IO at the airport just stamp you out, bombard you with questions or subject you to a stern lecture? I understand there is no fine or special stamp in your passport.