I worked with Paul at swift passport & Visa services and he was prompt, courteous, and helped me…read moreget my visa the day before I left. Thanks again Paul for all the help that you gave me.

If I could give them zero stars I would. Swift Passport services used to be great. I've used them…read morefor the last six passports for my family. They are either under new ownership or they changed their system completely. There is absolutely no need to use Swift. When you call, they direct you to the US government website to find the passport application yourself. Then they have you make your own appointment with the passport agent, usually at the post office. Then, there is no one answering the phone ever. They call you back after you leave a voicemail so if you don't have time to wait for them to call you back, don't bother. You can expedite your own passport with the post office in two-three weeks or go to another passport expediting service. Swift used to be the best in town. They had an in-office staff, they even took the pictures right in their office. That appears to be gone. For $349 I expect more than an email basically telling me to do it myself.

I had to leave the country for an Emergency, but my US passport was expired, and I did not have the…read moreappropriate paperwork to enter the countries of travel. AK and staff were courteous and knowledgeable about the approach and accurately completed the necessary paperwork. The end result was - Getting my US Passport on time and traveling stress-free! Thank you, Chicago Passport & Visa, for all your help!

said they'd have my passport in 2-4 weeks and got it in 10 days. That's a flex. the chubby Mexican…read morefella needs to get out more. Iykyk

Nothing will spike your blood pressure quite like realizing your passport is expired... a few days…read morebefore an international trip. That was the situation I recently found myself in. While gathering my travel documents, I discovered my passport had expired a few months earlier. Cue the rising panic! Thankfully, living in Indianapolis meant I wasn't completely without options. After a little persistence (and a few rounds battling the automated phone system), I was able to secure an emergency appointment at the Chicago Passport Agency for the next morning. From the very first phone call with the gentleman who scheduled my appointment to the follow-up email and text reminders making sure I had the right documentation ready, the process was surprisingly organized. Once I arrived, the experience continued to impress. The check-in line moved quickly, the security staff were friendly and professional, and the agent who helped me at the window was efficient, kind, and clearly knew exactly what they were doing. Government jobs can often be pretty thankless--especially when you're dealing with stressed travelers who are only there because they waited too long (guilty as charged). So the fact that every person I encountered was patient, helpful, and completely on their A-game was genuinely impressive. I certainly don't plan on needing their services again anytime soon, but if you ever find yourself in a passport panic, just show up with the documents they tell you to bring and they'll take care of the rest. Moral of the story: check your passport expiration date before booking an international trip. But if you forget like I did, the team at the Chicago Passport Agency can definitely save your trip and might just make your day!

Security and passport agents - not sure their official job title. All were helpful, earnest, and…read moreefficient. In at 9:15a and pickup by 2p. In an emergency this is the place. Don't take a chance on passport brokers when our government works this well. The building was clean and everything ran smoothly.

I ordered a passport a year ago and waited for them to mail it to me. The instructions were not…read moreclear that I was suppose to go to a place to get the passport and I was never able to use the order and it is now no longer valid. I am requesting refund and it's been 4 weeks. They said they escalated the case now so I'll update when I get a response.

Scam Got link to RushMyPassport from FedEx. Paid. Got email…read moresaying here are your documents. Open- it's just the US Passport application with their barcode. Took the app with their barcode and my documents to FedEx. They need mailing label. We call from FedEx phone & my phone. Closed Saturday. Get home n call again going through all the prompts. Had to go through several times on several calls to leave voicemail. Left 2nd voicemail Monday. Finally call them again and go through prompts finally able to wait for representative. Finally reach one day I need FedEx label. They can't provide n want another $480 to help. Representative reads through script not listening each time trying to upgrade me. Says since I opened document link can't refund. I say I'll dispute charges as haven't received promised services - I already had completed a US Passport application and compiled my documents I just need the FedEx label. She says you have to take to a passport rep eg the post office. She can't refund, she can't let me speak to a supervisor. I've disputed this charge

The service and environment were amazing and professional I was please with the help I rwceivedread more

Ugh. I called the "Chicago" office to try and get help with a visa and clearly the call was handled…read moreby someone overseas. There was a rooster repeatedly crowing in the background which made the speaker difficult to understand and no ability to talk with someone who actually works for them or can give me actual advice. He literally just read back information on the website to me. What a waste of time! I waited on hold for 20 minutes and still didn't get my questions answered or any help.

I had recently applied for a Tourism (L) Visa at the Chinese Consulate in Chicago (FYI- they do not…read moreaccept appointments for applying for a visa). I'm visiting from out of state so it did mean I was taking a mini vacation ...twice, unless I decided to stay for 5 weekdays as it takes 4 business days to process and then you can pick up on the 4th day. I applied on a Friday and it was ready by the following Wednesday according to the pickup receipt. The day of pickup, I got there by 9:05 and I was like 3rd in line to wait for the office to open but once it's almost 9:30 you won't see the line in the lobby because the people will be making their way upstairs to go through security. You stay in the same order as when you line up downstairs after you sign in with security. Once upstairs, the line splits off depending on what you are doing. There's a separate line for pickup and a separate line for applying for the visa- so just because you see 10 people ahead of you, maybe 3 of them is for pickup. So, before you go to the embassy, you need to apply via the online form and you need to include a headshot of yourself on a white background, not off-white because the application will not let you move forward. I typed just my personal info in CAPS but did everything else in normal writing with some capitalizations. Though it says that filling in your "position" at your job and "job duties" as optional--You actually need to fill it because they will make you fill it on the spot if you don't. The "where you stay form" is not optional, though it says that...I had to fill it at the embassy so just print and have it ready to give to the officer. I had all my photocopies in color but I'm not sure if that matters but to be safe, I wanted the copies to look exactly as they are. I put that I wanted multiple entries for 9 years and something, and I got multi for 10 years and I am a US citizen who had a 6 months Chinese visa 15 years ago when I was studying abroad in HK. If you have all your documents, it should be very fast at the window. The day I applied I got to the building around 10:30AM, silly me brought a coffee up thinking I can drink it while I wait inside...SIKE. You can't bring any drinks or food inside the office. So, I was outside chugging my coffee! This meant, like 7-8 people passed me while I was drinking my coffee in a span of like 7 mins and I finally went through security at around 10:35AM? I was #19 but they were on #5. I was called around 11:30AM and it took less than 10mins for the officer to review my docs and approve it. They give you a pink receipt to bring back to pickup your visa! You can pay with credit card on day of pickup and it's $140--NO CASH ACCEPTED Here's what I brought with me: - my actual valid passport with at least 6 months - printed copy of my passport -my actual copy of old passport (this is required because I had a visa before) -printed copy of my OLD passport (this is required because I had a visa before) -printed copy of OLD CHINESE VISA (this is required because I had a visa before) - copy of your state ID - printed copy of your completed Visa application with the QR Code -copy of marriage certificate (because of name change) -Where you Stay Form They had 2 officers that were just for the visa application line.

The address is 1 E. Erie. Everything was very fast and efficient. They no longer have computers…read moreto use and making copies is .25. It would have taken us a few minutes because they are so fast and efficient but we needed to take pictures which took longer that the actual processing our documents. It is a great deal for the pictures and they looked better than the ones at Walgreens.

This is a huge scam. I tried to cancel services and called on the third day after placing the order…read moreand they said it was after 72 hours and kept my money. HUGE SCAM!! Do not use them. Customer service is absolutely awful too.

Total scam. Appeared to be a government site, turns out the "service" they offer is totally…read moreunnecessary. They charge $284.00 For what you can do at the post office for 50 bucks. Was told by the postal service it's a complete scam. Unable to get refund,and Better Business won't take a complaint without business details that are not available.

Need a passport in a hurry? Visa papers? Don't know if you need a Visa? Then let Travisa deal with…read moreall of your travel issues. Travisa is a global agency that works with passport offices and embassies around the world to expedite passport and visa applications. When you need to move quickly- Travisa cuts through all the red tape and gets you what you need well before you need it. I have used them in the past to help with getting Visas for China and they have always come through. This time- the request was a little easier- but it was a request that I didn't even know I needed until Travisa got involved. I am planning a European vacation at the end of this month. I thought I had all the necessary documents however it turns out with the new rules- my passport needed to have 6 months remaining on it from the time of my return date. It only had 5. One email to Travisa put things into action. Within a few hours they were back to me telling me what they needed, where to find the right forms and giving me the contact's name here in Chicago. I ran out at lunch, had a couple of pics taken and the packet was off to them in overnight mail. I also got an email when they received my packet and when my new passport was being shipped. The whole process to get a new passport took about 2 weeks. They aren't cheap (you are paying for their services on top of the passport fee- I think all in it ran about $240) but you are paying for piece of mind knowing that your trip that you've been planning will still go on as planned. Travisa prides itself on customer service. They do a great job no matter what the request. And if there are any delays from the countries that they are dealing with, they are up front and tell you where the delay is. Nothing better when you want to take the hassle out of international travel which is why so many companies use them around the world. If you have problems with your papers for international travel- try Travisa. I'm betting they can figure it out.

If you're getting an India visa, odds are good you will get duped by the name confusion between…read more"Travisa" and "Travisa Outsourcing". Travisa Outsourcing is the official processor of the visas, and they charge $50 less than just plain old Travisa. I wish I'd seen Paul B's earlier review. I was duped. I left work early to pick up my passport from them, and made a special trip this afternoon between the hours of 4:30-6:00pm to Travisa Outsourcing, and the rude dude there (a different review is needed for him!) looked through their records and said my visa was processed by a third party, and that he didn't have it. He kept asking me who my third party was, and I kept saying, "It's Travisa!" and he eventually understood that I had used their "sister office down the street". After he expressed a few choice derogatory remarks about "you people" (what does that even mean??) a few times, and said I was "playing Russian Roulette" (??) he gave me the "sister office's" number and sent me there. Of course, their office hours are different than the other office, and they were already closed. Awesome. I'm not happy that they don't have clear language on either website explaining the difference between the two companies. I paid an extra $50 for what? Nothing! I agree with Paul B and Vipul V that this is a cynical business model, and has undoubtedly cost a lot of money and headaches for people going to get an Indian visa. Hopefully other Yelpers will find our reviews and be saved a big headache and the $50. 7/5/11 Now that I have adequately vented my frustrations about getting duped by the lack of clarity on the websites, and in their communications, I should say that they did a good job. So at least my 50 bucks paid for something. I made another special trip that necessitated taking off time of work to go there, and it was surprisingly a very painless process of actually picking up my passport. It took all of 30 seconds for them to find it, and I had to sign a sheet of paper that I'd picked it up. The staff were really friendly, which is what made me feel guilty enough to come back to yelp to correct my star rating. They did everything they promised to do: notified me via email when they received my passport, notified me when it was ready. There is definitely room for improvement in their communication, but otherwise, they got the job done. Here is a tip: their office on State St is VERY hard to find. It's just south of Monroe on the West side of the street. It's a little doorway just to the right of Subway restaurant. You have to be buzzed in and take the elevator to the third floor.

I wish I wouldn't have used these guys we did not get our passports before the trip. We took them…read moreour itinerary so they would know we needed them back by July 13. We have been waiting for 4 weeks and we still haven't received them. THERES NO WAY THEY CAN GET OUR PASSPORT BACK THE SAME DAY THATS NOT TRUE. I called the office and talked to AK on so many occasions and he was no help but he did tell me that 6 weeks was the fastest service they had when you expedite it you will get it in 1 to 2 days after it has been processed and approved by the government which takes 6 weeks. So we missed our trip. It says same day passports you will not get it in the same day next week are the week after. You can apply for a passport at the post office and save $139. Do not use same day pass port visa 203 North LaSalle on the corner of Lake and LaSalle in Chicago Il

If I could give 0 stars I would this guy took my passport form and typed it into his computer with…read moremissing or incorrect information and then charges me $139.00 for 2 minutes of his time and told me I had to go back home to get my divorce decree and come all the way back the next day. I bright that paper he photo copied it. And I took all of that to the post office. WHERE I STARTED!!! My original form was correct DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE IT IS COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY AND I WAS CONNED OUT OF MY MONEY!!

We finally did it! Our family trip to Europe. Our boys are big history buffs like my husband and…read moreasked for a trip to Europe to visit specific sites/locations they chose. We decided to start planning and quickly realized we were over our heads. We found Windy City by searching online. Dana did an amazing job of listening to our wants/needs while guiding us to make wise choices as we went along. It was a terrific trip that we will never forget and we are on to planning our next two trips with her already.

Windy City Travel helped us arrange a trip to London. Paula was very helpful in putting together…read moreour travel plan. Her assistance made the trip run smoothly and left us to enjoy a great experience in London.