Except when it’s about your passport.
Things have been very quiet on the blog lately. That’s not for lack of things to say or to add. It’s more for lack of time and energy. In the last two weeks we’ve had 8th grade leaving ceremony, state championships for lacrosse, end-of-year parties for what seems like every possible reason, a 40th birthday, two trips to Canada, and now Kristina is off for a week of lacrosse camp at the U.
Oh, and we’re getting married in 11 days.
Back story: My passport expired in February. Passport Canada treats every passport as an entirely new passport application – there are no renewals per se. They actually prefer folks to let them expire and issue new ones – that’s not a rule, just their preference.
The application process includes sending originals of all proof of citizenship documents, including the birth certificate and any current passport. The government website indicated that passport processing time was 20 working days, so I was confident that my passport would arrive in plenty of time.
Current story: Ed usually calls me when he leaves work to let me know he’s on his way home as it’s not a regular or consistent time each day. We usually chat about our days while he drives home. On one of those days, I wanted to talk about potential honeymoon destinations.
Ed was concerned about potential passport delays, and um… encouraged me to get the application sent.
“Have you filed for your passport yet?”
“Uh… no.”
“Then we’re not talking about the honeymoon.” (I can tell he’s grinning as he says this.)
“Are you serious?!?!?” (I’m not grinning.)
Talk about motivation.
(This was before all the media attention to passport processing delays here and in Canada, but Ed is well ahead of the curve in his thinking.)
So, I filed for the passport in March – they signed for receipt of the application 28 March. Count 20 working days, I should have it by the end of April. And with everything else happening in life, I didn’t think much more about it, having done my part. However, by the end of May I was getting a bit antsy.
I went to the website for Passport Canada and the new “Service Delay” was reporting 50 working days to complete passport applications for Canadians living in the US. I thought this applied to new applications submitted at that point. Silly me.
If passports are still not received after the expected delivery time (for me, 20 working days), one can file a status request online (including in the request the tracking number for delivery).
I did that. Twice. Finally I received this response:
“Although we could have received your application, it has not been processed yet nor has a file been opened in your name. Passport Canada is experiencing a sharp volume increase in passport applications and therefore this step could now take up to 50 working days.
If you sent your passport application via courier or registered mail, we recommend that you communicate with the courier service provider in order to confirm that your passport application was delivered at Passport Canada.”
As the days ticked by (already more than 50) with no passport – and no acknowledgement from Passport Canada that they had even received the application – we became increasingly concerned about our (expensive and non-refundable) international honeymoon. Finally, after several other email, phone, and fax attempts to get information, I contacted the Ombudsman.
Every federal office in Canada has attached to it a third-party watchdog, called the Ombudsman, whose role is to look out for the ‘everyman’ and keep the little guy from getting screwed by the bureaucracy. I’m sure that’s not the exact wording of the job description, but I think it’s apt.
The Ombudsman has rules about how one has to make every good faith effort to achieve results at the first level. I did that. Initially they referred me back to the passport office for a status report. I was tearing my hair out at this point. I tried again. The second time they referred me to an actual person, with an actual name, and a direct phone line.
Hallelujah!
Only that didn’t get me a passport. At first all it got me was an argument about how they do not provide any guarantees, it doesn’t matter what the website says or doesn’t say, they don’t make any promises to get people their passports before they travel. Oh dear.
My only question was, “What can we do NOW to get me my passport before I travel?” Once she realized that my view was forward, she became very helpful and worked hard to locate my passport application. She had searchers on it – they knew it came in, and that it was pre-screened.
Then it was "sent to the 2nd floor” which apparently is government-speak for “we haven’t got a bloody clue”. It could have gone to any one of nine different files/departments/people/desks/buckets/rings of hell, and they were trying to figure out which one. We were in contact every other day, then daily, then several times a day as the calendar flew by.
Still no passport. By this time, I was starting to wonder if I should be heading up to Vancouver to do an in-person application, except that I no longer had my original birth certificate - a required document for a passport application.
At Ed’s suggestion – solution-oriented man that he is – I applied online for a replacement birth certificate. After paying for super-speedy processing and courier service, the new birth certificate (from the provincial department of vital statistics) arrived practically before I had walked out of my office. (Now why can’t the federal government work that fast??)
The woman at the passport office continued to recommend patience. Finally, a week ago Friday, she changed gears – I should head up to Vancouver to do an in-person application. At that point, the website said it would take two weeks to process a passport in person – the lady in Ottawa said they could do it faster.
Tina suggested I ask the Ottawa lady for a letter detailing my travails and the history of the case, so that the Vancouver folks would know that I had done my part already and I wasn’t a lazy slacker waiting until the last minute. Okay, Tina didn’t say I was a lazy slacker. But she had the right idea.
The Ottawa lady did one better – she emailed the Vancouver office and let them know I was coming, gave them enough information to start my file, and asked them to give me every assistance. I received a phone call from the Vancouver office the same day – the lady there was very apologetic for my troubles, and wanted to set up an appointment for me to have my application received. This was MUCH better than arriving at 5:30 am to get in line with the hope of being seen the same day (the plight most folks are resigned to).
So, two very long days of driving to Vancouver and back (about a three-hour drive each way) and four border crossings (fortunately made easier by the Nexus pass) during a week with two national holidays (Canada Day and Fourth of July) later, I now have my passport. And we can go on our international honeymoon.
And there was much rejoicing.
P.S. I had a phone message this weekend from Ottawa - they found my application, had a question for me, and if I would call their 1-800 number with the answer, they would see if they could get my passport to me before my travel date. ???
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