Are you in a hurry to get your passport? Does your application seem have gotten mysteriously stuck in limbo? That’s frustrating for sure, but here’s how NOT to handle it: Calling your congressperson’s office and threatening them.

It may seem like I’m stating the obvious here, but apparently one East Tennessee man had to learn that particular life lesson the hard way. Here’s the gist of the story, from KnoxNews.com:

“Eric Robert Henderson, 27, admitted he called U.S. Rep. Phil Roe’s office in Washington, D.C., and left threatening voice-mail messages in September 2010. Federal authorities said he made the calls twice and threatened murder unless the government issued him a passport”. During each phone call, he specifically threatened to either assault, shoot or kill someone,” FBI agent David Bukowski wrote in a warrant.”

Apparently Mr. Henderson is unfamiliar with that old adage about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar. He was arrested, pleaded guilty and is now facing up to five years in jail. It probably goes without saying that he didn’t get a passport, either.

The really crazy thing about the whole incident is that the Congressman he threatened isn’t even his Congressman!

Look, if you need an expedited passport, you do have options. Paying the $60 expedite fee and requesting expedited passport service will cut the processing time for your passport application down to three weeks instead of six. If that’s still not fast enough, you can either make an appointment at one of the 15 regional passport agency offices in the United States, or purchase expedited passport service from a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport. We’ll hand deliver your paperwork for processing in as little as 24 hours.

If you’ve submitted an application already, you can check the status online at the Department of State’s website or by calling the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778.

If your application is delayed and you can’t figure out why, it’s not a bad idea to contact your representative. As long as you’re not making creepy death threats, they’re usually more than happy to help!

Need expedited passport service? We can help!