A little help with U.S. passport renewal

Going to the American Legion on April 10 to renew my U.S. passport. I know where to get legitimate fotos and have read the State Department web page on renewal out of country. So I have a vague idea of the process. Please give a little help here. Walk me through the process. In particular, I could use a specific phone number for the person or section of the consulate that takes care of this. Thanks in advance.

Hard to get through in the phone. You will find the email about passport services if you scroll down here:

https://mx.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/guadalajara/lake-chapalaajijic-services/

Show up early. Have your ducks in a row(check, photos, etc.). Sign in...you will be helped in that order. Consulate personnel will process you and take your passport and other stuff. Return next month to pick up your new passport (with bonus pages and you will have new number) In my experience, the renewed passports were handed out prior to the staff accepting new renewals.
YMMV

Since I believe you're in Chapala, if you're missing something they need, you can run home, grab it, and catch up with them at the Lake Chapala Society in .......gasp......Ajijic. I think they start at the American Legion, then go to LCS.

The check they need is very specific, paid to the order of some place you'd never think of writing without directions. I got my check a few years ago at CI Banco in Centro Laguna, but have a feeling they are not the place doing it any more. Someone here who's done it more recently will know.

US Passport renewal is easy if you bring what they need. (Like everything else here.)

The consulate changes the exchange rate monthly and usually a week before their visit to the Legion or LCS... Do not use Guadalajara Farmacia for your pictures as they are not acceptable...

"Lake Chapala Society in .......gasp......Ajijic."

What's the "gasp" for?  

I recently got my passport renewal when they set it up at the Lake Chapala Society.  I recall the bank used was Banamex in...."gasp"..... Chapala. Among others, there is a place on Ocampo in Ajijic on the south side which has a sign out front re their photos, which are acceptable.

Thanks for all the help. Yes, I want to keep things in Chapala. I live within walking distance of both the Banamex and the Legion. I have my passport, birth certificate and permanente resident card. I will bring the originals and photocopies, as well as the Banamex check. Where do I get the application form? Will I need any other documents, for instance, a CFE bill?

I think you download it but you could be wrong.

Alex, they were very nice, patient, and accommodating - but they were on a tight schedule. Seems to me they gave us the form (but maybe I did download it), it was short, because I remember a bunch of us all sitting around the legion filling it out. Like Rosa described, I was short something or had something wrong and they told me what I needed to do and to meet them at LCS when I had what I lacked. "Hurry!", they said. By the time I got it all and rushed over to the LCS I had to go to the bottom of the call list but did get it all done that day.

So, take the CFE bill copy just in case and don't forget photos. The check rules have changed since I did it so make sure you have that right. Slam dunk!

These are the current requirements for US passport processing as provided by the U.S. warden . Can't find my March listing and PNRI has already deleted the listing which he posts monthly on TOB but the paperwork remains the same.
I have deleted the old exchange rates but PNRI will post the rates generally no later than the Monday before the Consulate visits the Legion and LCS. The list below is available from the office at LCS and the applications can also be purchased for a nominal copy fee is you cannot download from the consulate website. I generally post the info here when I receive it from the warden.
You DO NOT need an electric bill.

U.S. Consulate Checklist

                 Passports                                    December, 2018

1.     Proper form completed and signed

2.     2 photos 2”x2” or 5 x 5 cm. (NO GLASSES)

3.    Bank checks payable to “United States Disbursing Officer on behalf” in Mexican pesos.  There are no cash/card transactions.  Bank checks in Pesos only from Banamex  located at Av. Francisco I Madero 222, Col. Centro, 45900 Chapala, Jal., Mexico. Tel:  376 765 2271 .

4.    Your old passport and one photo copy

NO FIRST TIME APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED

*Fees:

(Exchange rate     per 1 USD)

DON’T SIGN OR WRITE ANYTHING ON THE CHECK

Please don’t print your application in one page (use one sheet per page)

Simple passport renewal    pesos / 110 USD        Form DS-82

Card $ pesos/30 USD                          Form DS-82

Renewal for age 15 and under       Pesos / 115 USD       Form DS-11

           Card $  /15 USD

Kids of 16 or over     pesos / 145 USD Forms DS-11

Lost or Stolen passport $2,972.50 Pesos / 145 USD   Forms DS-64 & DS-11

Notary $1,025 Pesos / 50 USD per impression

To notarize a document

The applicant has to present an OFFICIAL AND CURRENT US or Mexican   ID such as:

-US Passport - Driver License-Mexican Passport-Driver License-Mexican Voter Card (IFE)

What document would need to be notarized? Do I need a separate check to pay for that? Or do I just add it to the first check?

You don’t need. Document notarized to renew your passport. That info is for people showing up to have some document to BE notarized.

I just had my passport renewed in February. We went to the Consulate. Easy to do, as long as you follow the instructions on the forms. I recommend TWO copies of your passport and residency card. Remember .... do not write ANYTHING on the check until the person processing you says to do so.

Two last questions: The consulate website says the renewal fee is 2145 pesos for the month of April, which is just a few bucks higher that the current exchange rate. But the email the consulate sent me said the agent would tell me the fee at the time of renewal. I would like to show up with a check for 2145 pesos when I see the agent. Help?

And do I really have to photocopy all the empty pages in my passport? Only one page has anything on it.

Smartalex wrote:Two last questions: The consulate website says the renewal fee is 2145 pesos for the month of April, which is just a few bucks higher that the current exchange rate. But the email the consulate sent me said the agent would tell me the fee at the time of renewal. I would like to show up with a check for 2145 pesos when I see the agent. Help?

And do I really have to photocopy all the empty pages in my passport? Only one page has anything on it.

go

GO to TOB for the correct rates for April....under immigration, etc. I usually repost the updates here after the warden receives the info but am having trouble reposting here with the consulates new format. Will work it out for next month.
Do not wait for the rate from the agent... You'll have to make a dash to the bank then.

Thank you Marrell. I saw the April rates on TOB.

$2145 Pesos is the right amount, My wife and I went to the Banamex in Chapala yesterday to get 1 for each of us. At the Bank, go to teller #1 to get the paper work for the Checks, after filling out the paper work ( it's in Spanish, and not much help available, thank goodness for Goggle Translate ) take back to teller #1 for the check. It took us a while to figure out the process, 30 min. Also I think we were told the Passports would be returned on May 9th. Another blue sky day in Ajijic

Yeah...it was a hassle-free process. You need your current passport, one photocopy of the information page in your passport, the proper form for a passport renewal (DS 82, which is available online), two photos from a legitimate studio, and a certified check (cheque de caja) from Banamex for the amount published by the consulate each month. Thanks for all the help, especially to you Mr. R and Mr. D.

Did you go to the Legion or LCS?

I went to the Legion. The Legionaires had things very well organized. The agents from the consulate appeared to be Mexicans. They were very courteous as well as patient. Not sure how well they spoke English; however, from my perspective, I did appreciate that they spoke proper Spanish rather than the colloquial dialectic gibberish so common to Mexico.

What do the US agents do besides passport renewals, anything related to SS?. These past months there have been huge crowds turning up at The Legion for service...Where are they all coming from....

The agents also perform notarization services. Perhaps this has something to do with SS. Perhaps someone else here can answer your question.

SS isn’t covered on these visits. You need to contact them by email for any issues with Social Security.

So do you need any other ID etc.

Nope...your passport is your i.d.