"You can get a replacement if lost or stolen at the Embassy in a day so why would a renewal have to go to the U.S. unless you have left out something?”

The passport-in-a-day is a short-term emergency travel document without a chip that the embassy/consulate can produce on the spot. Ten-year passports with a chip and full security features come out of a factory in the U.S.

That would make sense... my new passport in early 2015, the material used must have been cut back because it isn't as thick as the old one although you get the extra pages now automatically. I need to use rubber bands to keep the thing from curling up!

You would think if they are sending it home they would use better material. You listening Trump!

When the wife and I renewed our passports at the U.S. Bangkok Embassy a couple a years ago it was right around 10 days when we each got the email we could come pick them up.   Now if you asked to have it mailed back to your once the U.S. Embassy receives it they just remail it through the ThaiPost...probably via EMS.    Expect a person who applied at the embassy and asked for the passport to be mailed that they should plan on about 3 weeks to get the passport if things go really smooth and  "assuming" the embassy gets it back in around 2 weeks so they can remail it....the embassy use to say it could take 30 days to get it back for personal pickup when applying but that's probably a worst case scenario.