The embassy in IL seems to be working extra hard these days. They send out messages regarding their passport / CRBA system every few weeks. Just got this today:
March 10, 2023
Subject: Message for U.S. Citizens: New Guidelines for Emergency Appointments
Emergency Passport Appointments Are Only for Passport Renewals for Documented U.S. Citizens
Over the last 18 months, we have made multiple attempts to provide avenues for those who have emergency travel to the United States to get a limited-validity, emergency passport. Please understand that for us emergency means the death or illness of a loved one in the United States. It does not mean a trip to bring a new baby to meet their U.S. relatives. The previous urgent appointment system had to be taken offline because of the sheer number of non-urgent appointment requests.
On February 6, we introduced a new system for emergency passports, including daily workday releases of emergency appointments, to facilitate this. Under the new system anyone who gets an emergency appointment only gets an emergency passport with a purple cover, valid for less than one year. You should understand there is no such thing as an emergency Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA). We will never issue those through the emergency passport appointment system.
Unfortunately, even this system is being abused as we continue to see far too many applicants who do not actually have urgent, emergency U.S. travel. In particular, it is often used for first-time passports for infants who apply for an emergency passport and then return to us soon after for the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), without ever using the emergency passport for travel. This steals available appointments from people who truly need them.
Therefore, effective Monday, March 13, emergency appointments will be limited to those who are already documented as U.S. citizens and need to apply for a passport using form DS-11. No passport applications for undocumented applicants will be accepted, including children. There are no exceptions to this policy (which will be explicitly stated on the Emergency Appointment selection button on the scheduling website).
This revised policy will allow us to schedule additional CRBA appointments for those who are trying to document their children as U.S. citizens and to receive a first-time passport, and better serve the entire U.S. citizen community.
If your current passport is valid through end of your planned trip, or if your previous passport is still valid or expired less than five years ago, you are not eligible to make an emergency appointment. The fastest way to seek an emergency passport is to drop your complete DS-82 application in the drop box at the Embassy in Jerusalem (make sure to write ”URGENT” or “EMERGENCY TRAVEL” on the envelope). Alternatively, you can send your DS-82 to either of our locations with the same annotation. Then send a note through the online inquiry system that it has been submitted so we can be on the lookout for it.
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