Followup - are services like these legit?

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! Hopefully someone will find it!!!

Wow, muddgirl. That sucks.

I don't know anything about the expedited passport services. My advice, for what it's worth, is not to use them until you get a chance to talk to the State Department. First off, I know of one case where friends got an expedited passport through the passport office. They were new parents and were going to Europe. They had completely forgotten to get a passport for their 6-month-old. They had to delay their trip by a couple days, but they did get an expedited passport for the kid when they showed the plane ticket. So, try there first.

And if that turns out to be impossible, ask the passport office whethere the private service is on the level.

Oh, and the media references cited on the website you linked sound sort of bogus to me.

I know how you feel - I once had my briefcase stolen from my office with my passport in it a week before I had to head overseas. The police found it and I collected it on the way to the airport.

But (of course) the saga didn't end there. I had notified the NZ passport office here that my passport had been stolen and then again that it had been recovered. When I came back into Australia a couple of weeks later, a red light came on at immigration and [boring details removed] it turns out that my passport was still listed as stolen. Now, because my passport was once presented to immigration while listed as stolen, I forever have a flag against me in Australian immigration records that says I once presented a stolen passport for entry. Every time I enter Australia for the rest of my life, a red light will come on and I will be taken aside while someone rings the NZ passport office to make sure I am OK to be allowed entry.

Back on-topic, contact whoever issues passports for you folk and aske them about an expedited service. It no doubt exists, but you will probably have to pay an extra fee. For NZ passports (ones issued in Australia, anyway), you can pay an extra $50 or so and get one issued on the spot if you don't mind waiting around for an hour or so.

There's a flag on your record for stealing your own passport? ::laughs::

IT'S NOT FUNNY!!!!

Found it! In the last place I looked! Yay! Trippage for muddgirl!