I had a smooth process for my passport renewal. I ...

I had a smooth process for my passport renewal. I arrived on Tuesday, 09/11/18 at around 10:35 AM, went through the security checkpoint, and submitted my documents at the front desk. I got called for biometrics at around 12:10 PM (took my picture and fingerprints) and walked out the door about 12:30 PM.

I paid for the 3-7 day expedited processing. I picked up my passport the next Tuesday, 09/18/18. On the pickup day, I arrived at 2:20 PM and had to sit and wait a while before going upstairs to the 8th floor. When I got upstairs, I waited on a short line, was given my passport, signed the book and was done by 3:18 PM. Everything went smoothly for me and the staff was courteous, efficient and knowledgeable both times I went there.

Before my 09/11/18 visit, I called to reschedule my initial appointment date (which was all the way in November) to one more convenient for me (which was then changed to the 09/11 date). They truly have difficulty picking up the phone (being nice here lol). But when I am determined about something, I am relentless. I called about 50 times in the span of 30 minutes (no exaggeration here) until someone finally answered the phone and helped me reschedule my appointment. I was fully prepared to disturb their lives that day with endless calls until someone picked up the phone. Moral of the story, be relentless and determined!

My advice, is to do a lot of research before you go to the embassy. I saw conflicting information in several places online, so I took all the documents that they could possibly ask for. It s better to be safe than sorry. They ended up not needing those extra documents that I brought, and they didn t need the $30 money order or the two passport photos.

Overall advice: be respectful and come prepared (with everything that they could possibly ask for), say a quick prayer for grace and favor to your God (I did this lol) and everything should go smoothly.