Questions about 2023 passport renewal

[cookj5]

My wife needs to renew her passport, which expires this November 2023. We need some information about how to do this. For example:

1. We plan to mail the applications, rather than use the on-line service, because the official website says the on-line services have been on pause since March and there is no indication when they will be back up again. We have downloaded all the forms but don't know how we can pay the $130 fee. Can we do it by check? If we can pay it by credit card on-line, how is that done?

2. Where do we send the materials? We have a Laredo mailing address through Handy Mail and the official website says people with addresses in Texas should send their applications to an address there. However, when I called the Guad. Consulate the woman there talked about sending the application packet to the consulate. She also said that we should include in our mailing a "pre-paid" envelope with our Mexican address. "Pre-paid" for how much?  However, the website says they won't send the renewed passport to a Mexican address.  The information the consulate woman was giving me was so contradictory to what the official website says that I don't know who to believe.

We can't believe how difficult and confusing they have made all this. Has anyone submitted their passport for renewal this year? How did you resolved these issues? Are there any lawyers or facilitators here at Lake Chapala that might assist us? Any other advice?

[ibarra]

Apply for a U.S. Passport in Mexico

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSccKkd7QG0FSPhipgJ_MR2qz8l9GSjt7giQVW51TqnGuVkaow/viewform

[Ellie]

https://lakechapalasociety.com/public/newsletters.php

Open the May issue of Conecciones page 15 is from the U.S. consulate with current information of HOW TO RENEW YOUR U.S. PASSPORT

 

[adolphsj]

Definitely do it here.  We found it even easier for my wife recently than when I did it with LCS 5-6 years ago, which wasn’t hard either.

[Ferret]

1 hour ago, Ellie said:

https://lakechapalasociety.com/public/newsletters.php

Open the May issue of Conecciones page 15 is from the U.S. consulate with current information of HOW TO RENEW YOUR U.S. PASSPORT

 

[NEWMtnMama]

Having just done it, I would add that using iShop for the DHL shipping is way easier than hiking in to the DHL office in Ajijic altho it costs a few pesos more. Use your HandiMail Chapala address for return. They are saying it will take about 9 weeks to process. 

[Ferret]

You can use the iShop address for the return... Your Name c/o iShop, Their address. It will cost you 30 pesos to receive it. 

[cookj5]

Thanks, everyone, for your quick responses. The page from Conecciones seems to have all the answers I needed. It is very explicit and hopefully should be easy to use. I am very glad it came from the Consulate itself, which means that it is probably as accurate as I can get.

However, anyone who tries to download that page to print it out, as we did, should understand something., Although the page is marked as "15" it is actually pg. 21 because, when a printer (at least mine) counts pages, it will count all the pages, marked or not. Just check to see what page your printer screen says you are on and tell it to print that one. Word to the wise. 

[Brian Dalziel]

The instruction sheet above states, "Passports can only be delivered to a DHL store".  So, having the passport sent to iShop&Mail instead -- how does that work?

[NEWMtnMama]

iShop is a DHL outlet 

[sm1mex]

Ishop checks your paperwork then does everything else to send and receive back your new passport. When I did mine several months ago Ishop charged 630 pesos for the sending and receiving. They called me when the passport returned to San Antonio.