Passports and Visas

Thank you for contacting my office regarding your request for assistance with the U.S. Department of State.  If you or another U.S. citizen is experiencing an emergency abroad and need immediate assistance, please call 888-407-4747 (U.S. and Canada) or 202-501-4444 (overseas), or contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

Obtaining a Passport

The United States Passport Agency prioritizes inquiries for applicants with life-or-death emergencies or scheduled travel within the next two weeks or within the next four weeks if they need to apply for a foreign visa. 

For guidance on obtaining your passport as quickly as possible, please click here.

If you have followed all the steps recommended by the Passport Agency and you still need assistance, you can complete a Privacy Release Form to authorize my office to make an inquiry on your behalf.  Please review the instructions before you complete your form.

• Full name, birthdate, and passport application number for the applicant(s).
• If you do not know your passport application number, you can find it by checking your application status online here. 
• If you do not have a pending application, please explain why in the description box.
• All adult applicants must complete a separate form.  For children, a parent or legal guardian must sign the form and include the child’s name, birthdate, and application number.

• The date you applied and whether you paid for expedited processing or expedited shipping.
• If you did not initially pay for expedited processing or shipping, you want your passport faster, and you are still within current processing times for your application, you may be asked to pay the expedited fee.  You can do so by calling 1-877-487-2778.

• Proof of your travel date within the next two weeks or four weeks for visa applicants or of the urgent nature of your request.
• Acceptable proof includes a PDF or screenshot of your airline receipt, cruise line booking, or foreign hotel reservation, including your name and travel date.
• Please ensure that screenshots do not crop out your name.
• If your travel accommodations are not booked, additional evidence could include a doctor's note, a relative’s death certificate, a funeral invitation, employer’s letter detailing the urgent need for work travel, or an invitation to an event abroad.

Note: Please do not submit congressional inquiries to more than one Member of Congress or Senator.  Duplicate inquiries increase the processing time.

Please click here to complete your Privacy Release Form. 

Obtaining a Visa

If you need assistance obtaining a visa from a U.S. embassy or consulate, please note that my office cannot make an inquiry until after your application has been submitted.  If you are experiencing processing delays, my office can check to determine whether expedited processing is possible.  There are many cases in which the State Department is required by law to pursue additional processing that cannot be expedited.  In those instances, unfortunately, there are no additional steps that my office can take beyond checking on your application status after 30 days or more.

Below is a link to a Privacy Release Form, which authorizes my office to make a congressional inquiry on your behalf.  For expedited processing requests, please attach documentation supporting your need for expedited processing, such as a doctor's note or evidence demonstrating a financial need to travel. 

Please complete the National Visa Center form by clicking here.  Once finished, save the completed form to your computer along with the most recent documentation you received.  Then upload all documents to my office's Privacy Release Form, which you can access by clicking here.  When filling out the Privacy Release Form, be sure to select "Department of State" from the "Agency Involved" dropdown menu.

• ATTENTION: Please do not submit the Privacy Release Form until you have completed the National Visa Center form.  Failure to upload the completed National Visa Center form or select the correct “Agency Involved” will result in delays in processing your case.

If you have any further questions or if this is a time-sensitive matter, please do not hesitate to contact my office at (713) 353-8680. 

Please click here to submit your completed  Privacy Release Form.