Passport applications go missing at Georgetown post office

Texas post office finds lost passport app

We told you about Theresa Reyes, who had applied for a passport at the Georgetown post office but was told they lost her application. Her application has since been found.

GEORGETOWN, Texas - UPDATE (Jan. 5, 2024, at 3:34 p.m.): On Thursday, Jan. 4, Reyes reached out to FOX 7 and said that she had received her new passport and original documents.

"Thanks to you and your crew," she said in a text. "I believe that I would have never gotten a response as to where my passport application went."

She said after she reached out to 7 On Your Side, she got a call on Dec. 29 from a Travel.gov representative saying they had not received Reyes' application because it had never left the Georgetown post office. They apologized for the delay and said they would mail her passport as soon as they received the application.

Below is the statement FOX 7 also received from USPS:

"The Postal Service strives to always provide the best possible service to our valued customers. It is disappointing when, on rare occasions, we appear to fall short of that goal. In this instance, local postal officials report that some passport applications accepted at the Georgetown post office in September were recently delivered to the appropriate passport agency. All documents were intact. The specific cause of the unintended delay has not been determined, but we assure our customers that internal processes are currently being reviewed to prevent a recurrence. We sincerely apologize to our customers for any inconvenience they may have experienced."

Passport issues for Georgetown woman

7 On Your Side reporter Carissa Lehmkuhl spoke to a woman who applied for for her first passport and it has not gone smoothly.

ORIGINAL STORY: When FOX 7 met with Theresa Reyes, it was not the first, or even the second, time she had been at the Georgetown post office in recent weeks.

On Sept. 25, she submitted an application for her very first passport.

"I started checking on Oct. 13. And then on Oct. 27. I called again and nothing, no status. So I called Travel.gov. And that's when they told me they haven't gotten any information," Reyes said. "So I was in Chicago at the time because I go every Halloween. So on Nov. 1, when we came back from the airport, we stopped here…and that's when I found out everything."

She learned that her application had mysteriously disappeared, along with a couple hundred dollars and, most importantly, her personal documents.

"Birth certificate and a copy of my driver's license. My social," Reyes said. "Everything is in there."

She was refunded some, not all, of the money spent. But the application is still missing.

"He says, don't worry, but it's not just you," Reyes said. "It was the whole day on the 25th."

TxTag bill sent to dead Driftwood man

The man's daughter says the bill said her father had been driving on a Houston-area toll road in November, however he died in late October.

FOX 7 tried to reach someone at the post office to ask how many applications were lost that day, and what they think happened. But after numerous attempts, we still have not been able to reach anyone.

"I'm not even sure that all these people even know what's going on, because I just started getting worried and started checking on it myself," Reyes said.

It seems her application never even left the facility. When Reyes checked her application status, it said "label created," but not yet in the system.

When Reyes reached out to the State Department and the Postal Inspection Service, she was told they could not help, and that it was the responsibility of the Georgetown post office.

"It's been horrible, now I have to see if I can get to Houston, cause you can't do it here," Reyes said. "You have to go to Houston to get it now because I need an emergency one."

MORE 7 ON YOUR SIDE

Aside from reaching out to the customer care center for lost mail, the USPS says consumers can submit a missing mail search request online, if it's been at least a week. Consumers can also file a claim within 60 days if the items were insured. The USPS Office of Inspector General tells us you can also file an online complaint with them.

Reyes has reached out to multiple entities. She says she has not been able to track down her application yet.

All this as the clock ticks on an upcoming international trip in January.

"I just know that I'm not getting anywhere," Reyes said.

USPS is also in the process of responding to FOX 7's requests for comment.

7 On Your Side Georgetown