As I let my passport lapse when I got sick and don't have kids, I can only offer a couple of bits of info:
a. The passport line at my post office is always really long, but that may be because it's usually Hispanics and the post office doesn't have translators.
b. I don't know about when you need a birth certificate immediately, but there is a very easy place (http://www.vitalchek.com/default.aspx) to get them online. The Washington state Department of Health actually referred me there. I got mine since I plan to bring a chair in to the post office some day and get a passport. You never know, I might have the money to go to Farthing Party some year.
no subject
a. The passport line at my post office is always really long, but that may be because it's usually Hispanics and the post office doesn't have translators.
b. I don't know about when you need a birth certificate immediately, but there is a very easy place (http://www.vitalchek.com/default.aspx) to get them online. The Washington state Department of Health actually referred me there. I got mine since I plan to bring a chair in to the post office some day and get a passport. You never know, I might have the money to go to Farthing Party some year.