Man, when the State Department is running rings around you, it's time to re-evaluate your policies and procedures.wheelgun wielder wrote:I guess I can add my info to the data collection:
02/01/09 - Completed CHL Class
02/02/09 - Packet dropped in mail to DPS (didn't think to send it with delivery confirmation)
02/20/09 - Check deposited by DPS
xx/xx/xx - waiting for PIN
What I find funny is that I sent in my U.S. passport renewal to the State Department a week after I mailed in my CHL application packet, and I got my new passport in the mail yesterday! Three weeks total, from mailbox to mailbox. Although to be fair, it was a renewal, and I guess they didn't have to re-investigate if where I was born had changed since the last time.
I recently had really good luck with the folks in Foggy Bottom, too, but I paid the $60 expedited handling fee (I needed a new one ASAP for a trip to Africa that couldn't be postponed). I overnighted the old passport and renewal form, and had my new one via express mail in exactly seven calendar days.
Taking this as a model, how many would be willing to pay an expedited handling fee to get a CHL in seven days? You'd still have the 60-day setup for the standard fee, but an extra charge gets you a one-week turnaround. I'd be all over that for an original, but it wouldn't add much value to a renewal IMHO - if Austin would truly honor the 60-day timeframe.