The agency here is the BEST govt operation I have EVER experienced…read more The staff was helpful / courteous and efficient ! I was especially impressed with Lee in window 4 and Madilyn in window 14 . The entire experience has renewed my faith in government !!!

Never in my life have I had such a seamless visit at any state of federal office. Took my mother in…read morelaw to get an emergency passport. The officers at the front entrance were pleasant and patient. The receptionist at the third floor where the office was at took down our appointment number and gave us a number instantly. We walked up to the first window where all documents were checked and told to have a seat. We were called to a window in less than five minutes. The process was completed within ten minutes. We were told to come back at 3:00 to pick up her passport. They allowed us to line up at 2:45 and had the passport in hand by 3:00. I complimented multiple times that they had a great system. I had went back in 2018 and got in line at 6:00AM. During a time where walk in were still taken. That was a 3 hour wait until I got to the window. This process from when we entered to when it was complete took a total of 25 minutes. It took longer to find parking than to get the passport application done. It's still best to be prepared. Paperwork in order, pictures taken beforehand. They only take contactless payment and not money orders or checks. Very simple, very seamless. Salute to the SF passport agency and all the federal officers at the door.

5/5 stars for speed, helpfulness, and turnaround. I was needing a visa processed for an upcoming…read moretrip and I had a month to get this figured out. Working with Sarah and Alex, I got my visa back, stamped and ready to go, with no issues *and* earlier than I expected (less than a week turnaround, even though I paid for the 3 week timeline.) This San Francisco office has everything you need to get a visa application squared away: knowledgeable staff with plenty of experience, laser printers, and a photo studio for up-to-date passport photos. There is something really reassuring about working with Sarah and Alex, in-person in their San Francisco office. Their guidance and support walking through a somewhat-complex visa application process really made everything so much better. Thank you Sarah and Alex, for saving me from stress, confusion, and frustration, and providing your insight such that my visa application is completed smoothly (and quickly).

They ate great for getting your visa but if you need to communicate with them beyond that they are…read morenot helpful at all.

We have been going to Passport Depot for years now, since they were located on Haight St. They now…read morehave a beautiful new location in Union Square. Let's be honest we never keep track of when our passport expires. Then when you suddenly book a last minute trip, you notice you're passport has expired and you're franticly trying to see how you can get it renewed before your trip. Michael and Christine take all the stress of getting an appointment and filling out paperwork for you. They expedite and streamline the renewal process for you, saving you time and stress. When you're handing over your passport to an agency, you want to make sure that they are professional, trustworthy, reliable and that everything will be handled with care and on time. They also can help you with travel Visa's and can answer any questions you may have. When I was renewing an expire passport for my mom recently, I also noticed that they have a passport card available now that works as a secondary ID, or for domestic travel if you don't have a real ID. Working with them for our passport renewals has given us peace of mind that everything will be handled properly for us in time. Great customer service. Would highly recommend.

Great service and very efficient. Would definitely recommend and go back. Thank you Passport Depot.read more

Scammed with hidden fees post-initial payment. So much back and forth of re-sending documents with…read moreunclear communication for what is needed, which delayed the process to get our visa. Lack of transparency in the process and lack of responsiveness when contacted. Highly DO NOT RECOMMEND. Also, the 5 star indicated via Yelp is highly inaccurate.

CVSC AKA China Visa SCAM Center…read more Background: Don't believe the positive reviews - they are all from when CVSC was an independent company. I used this company in the past too and had no problems but it appears they have been bought by a large visa clearing house called CIBT. Poor website design: For proof of address EITHER a drivers license or utility bill is required. I submitted my drivers license but the website required me to submit a utility bill too or it would not proceed so I submitted my drivers license again since I do not have a utility bill in my name. They rejected the application so I had to call to clear it up. Each application rejection results in a 1 day delay. My GF submitted her photo and it was rejected because her hair covered her forehead and ears. This was not mentioned in the application. Another 1 day delay. Clueless customer service: When you call the 800 number you do not deal with the people in the SF office who are actually processing the application so they are clueless and just reading the instructions off the website. At one point the supervisor told me my application was pending because I had applied at the SF consulate instead of the LA consulate which had jurisdiction based off my address. After I educated him that according to the consulate website my address is serviced by SF he changed his story and said it was because of the county I was in. He had the wrong county... Unauthorized fees, illegal hidden fees, and sneaky fees The only fees for a China visa that are listed on their website are: standard service fee, rush service fee, and consular fee (that goes directly to the Chinese consulate). Now let's count how many times CVSC tried to scammed me: 1. Unauthorized fee: When I submitted the first payment for the standard service fee I was billed an additional "Passport Replacement Coverage" fee that I did not purchase NOR was it even on the application. (In retrospect this is when I should have cut and run...) 2. Sneaky fee: After my application was approved I was emailed a FedEx label to mail in the application. No where in the email was it mentioned that I would be charged for using the label. Good thing I took the time to read the fine print on the label: "If you choose to use this label, a fee of $59.00 will be applied to the total cost of your application." 3. Illegal hidden fees: After my visa was issued I was charged additionally for: "Digital Photo Service" and "Consular Processing Fee." These are illegal hidden fees specifically prohibited in CA (SB 478). After countless emails and phone calls I finally got all the scam fees refunded. Ironically it would have been faster and cheaper to just go to the consulate and get the visa myself after I factored in all the time I spent fighting their scam fees.

I highly recommend Bay Document Services and Phillip Monares for your visa/passport services…read more I decided to visit my son who lives in NE China this coming spring. The most daunting part of planning is the Visa for entering China. I chose Bay Document Services and I am so pleased with the owner, Phillip Monares. He answered the phone when I called to enquire. He followed up via text messages to answer any questions that I had about the process. Parts of my application were rejected and Phillip explained what to do. He was right there through the whole process! My passport and China Visa were returned to me today. I am ready for my trip. (I diddled around getting the application to the embassy, and then had to wait for the Chinese New Year closure to pass, but the whole process took about a month.) I highly recommend Phillip Monares for document services.

We are so appreciative of Phillip Monares!! We ran into so many scam artists and so much…read moreconflicting information when we needed to renew our passports in a pinch. He was extremely helpful, informative, and professional. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

These guys... wow…read more Was scheduled to travel in February, and had planned on renewing once back due to uncertainty of timing and the process, then resort renovation ran over, did not open and we did not end up traveling. Couple weeks later, unscheduled need to travel international appeared on short notice and well, now the crunch right? Not at all, quick search of reviews on Yelp and found Stephen and Aaron, just about a week start to finish for these two miracle workers. Solid, clear communication throughout, reasonable fees and a turnaround that removed all the stress around renewal and away we go! Could not have been easier or smoother. Thanks guys!!!

Stephen saved my trip in September. Just saw my passport was about to expire and my trip in…read moreSeptember is all set and paid for. Stephen got my new passport to me in a week. Awesome service from the start of the process. It was a breeze. Thanks guys for the great service!!

The Worst. I would not recommend anyone to take this route. I paid for the services which I thought…read morewould be easy but had to go everywhere to get an agent to confirm paperwork. I gave up and just wanted to cancel my services with them to get my refund but they have taken so long to give me back my $200 refund. All they keep telling me is to wait more time because the billing department is reviewing it. What is there to review if I never went through with there services? This is possibly the worst experience

Terrible experience! Avoid this place at all costs. What should have been a simple passport renewal…read moreturned into a nightmare that cost me a missed flight, an extra week of hotel fees, and airline change fees. The issue was entirely their fault. I paid the state fees directly to them, but they failed to include them in my application. When I called to sort out the mistake, Louis Baldassarre from Rush My Passport argued with me, literally yelling, claiming they don't handle state fees and refused to issue a refund since the application was already in process. Their incompetence cost me hundreds of dollars and a significant amount of stress.

This business is now CLOSED in San Francisco…read more We have used these agency multiple times and I am so sad that it is not open now that the government has slowed their response in getting passports issued. What a loss for the city and surrounding communities.

The worst. Don't waste your money nor time. They pretend they going to make you an app with agent…read more They lied. Once you go to "agent app" they said this company always do this. I had to tu o bug her to please help me. "The Passport Office" is a rip off. I did all paper work and mail my self. The Passport Office only gets your money that's all.

I had a very pleasant experience with their service. They were all quick and responsive throughtout…read morethe entire process.

Spencer Chase is a scammer. I wish I had read the recent reviews before paying him…read more I hired Spencer for assistance for a Chinese Visa application. Similar to other reviewers here, he initially seemed very responsive and knowledgeable, but then the delays and excuses started. Since he has had legitimate experience in this field, his excuses seemed reasonable, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. In the end, they were all lies. Here is an incomplete list of the excuses he used: "Waiting for the pickup notification" "Should be today or tomorrow" "It will definitely be next week" "They are a little backlogged at the Consulate" "Should be any day" "Will contact you soon, at the consulate now" "Should be getting the pickup ticket tomorrow" "They are prioritizing business first, ticket applicants second, and non-ticket applicants like yours third" "This delay is not typical" "Your application was batched with a tourism order last week" "I've been using all methods to try to get this done as soon as possible and it will be completed this week" "I got the pick up date and it's for next Thursday" "I just received one for another case that was submitted shortly before yours so it looks like we're almost there" All of these excuses sounded believable and made the process sound like it was always tantalizingly close to completion, but every one of these updates was a lie. Every. Single. One. I was a fool to have believed him. I hired Spencer in July when he promised it would be done in 2-3 weeks. I had to threaten him with legal action in order to recover my passport in November (4 months later, still with no visa in hand). After getting my passport back, I went to the consulate myself. The whole process took just 40 minutes (mostly waiting in line). It makes my blood boil just thinking about how Spencer strung me along for 4 agonizing months because he couldn't have bothered to go to the consulate for a mere 40 minutes. He exploited my inexperience and took advantage of my patience. My advice for anyone applying for a Chinese visa: do it yourself. The consulate updated their online application process in October 2025 so it's much smoother. If there is anything missing in your application, they'll tell you online exactly what you need. When it's time to submit your passport to the consulate in person, you just need to drop off the passport. The processing is super fast now because they've already reviewed everything online. And you don't have to pay a penny until your actually pick up your passport with the visa. Even worse than wasting your money and time, Spencer will ruin your travel plans and your mental health. He never planned on completing the work. Please don't make the same mistake I did.

I had a very positive experience with VFS Global at the Atlanta office. The staff were…read moreprofessional, polite, and very helpful throughout the entire process. From the moment I arrived, they clearly guided me through each step and made sure everything was handled efficiently. The processing was very quick, and the team worked in a well-organized manner. I especially appreciated how attentive the staff were in answering questions and assisting applicants to ensure all documents were properly submitted. Overall, the service was smooth, efficient, and stress-free. I would definitely recommend VFS Global to anyone looking for a reliable and well-managed visa application service.

This is for the new office 642 Harrison street…read more I am still doing OCI MISC services which I got frustrated when I started Feburary 2021. Now it is mandatory to get the OCI Misc serivecs. After four years still nothing changed. Here is my updated review from March 2026 I applied for OCI miscellaneous services through the Government of India website. The online application process itself was actually quite easy compared to a few years ago. However, the problems started after submitting the application. The instructions said to create an account with VFS and follow their guidelines. Unfortunately, the instructions were not clear either on the Indian government website or on the VFS website. I mailed my physical application along with a check to VFS, and it has now been 14 business days with no response. When I try to track the application online, the VFS website does not work properly. When I attempt to contact them through the online support system, I cannot even submit a query because the page stalls. I also tried calling their customer service number. They mention that the first 10 minutes are free, but after that it costs $2.48 per minute, which is ridiculous. Even after calling, the service was very poor. The representatives were not able to answer my questions and simply kept telling me to track the status online. However, the main issue is that their website itself is not working, so I have no other way to get information about my application. Overall, the service experience has been extremely frustrating. I am not sure why the Government of India has hired this company to handle such important application processing.