A1 Passport & Visa Express

$ 12 for 2 passport photos, $ 30 for 6 photos. White background on the photo appears slightly pink.

In and out 20 minutes flat. Amazing! They’re busy, but have great customer service nonetheless. Don’t procrastinate if possible, because those rush fees will cost ya!

Sam did an amazing job with my Husband and my passports /​visas. I needed a new passport due to name change, and my husband and I needed Chinese visas. Sam began the process on Monday and I had our passports back on Friday. As someone who has done many visas myself, I really appreciate how quickly they pulled everything together. I will definitely be using them again in the future for visas. I do not live in DC, so it makes it much easier than driving back and forth to embassies from rural Maryland.

I don’t do many reviews because I belive if it’s your job do it. But these guys went above and beyond. They made a stressful situation very manageable. Friendly staff and truly professional. I would recommend to anyone.

These guys are FAST and THOROUGH! I delivered the completed paperwork package (by courier, because that’s faster & cheaper than FedEx) late Friday afternoon, and I had the new passport in my hands by Wednesday morning. WELL WORTH the $ 400.
The website is extremely easy to use & offers all the detail you’ll need. Follow their steps, including duplicate copies where needed (sending more than is needed is better than not enough). All the links are there for every required form.
I have used this service twice for passport renewals, and am about to use it a third time. As an executive assistant, this is something I do regularly and I will continue to use A1 exclusively from now on! I can’t recommend them enough!

Due to my passport expiring in 3 months, I needed to renew before my April 15, 2016 trip. This place was located across the street from my job so it was super convenient. I filled out the paper work on March 7, 2016 and got my passport back March 15. I wasn’t expecting it for about 3 weeks. My application was expedited without the extra fees. It was a one stop shop for my picture and everything. I will definitely be using this service again!

Quick, convenient, friendly.
I was in and out within 5 minutes for a passport photo. No hassle, reasonably priced, and friendly service. I was asked to view my photo and offered to take again if I did not like it. I would recommend A1 to my co-​workers and friends.

I went in for passport photos and was in and out in less than 5 minutes. The service is prompt, staff is very friendly, and I will definitely be going back for my passport renewal. The website is also very user-​friendly and explains exactly what documents you need for each situation very well — something that does not often happen in the field of government documentation. I highly recommend A1 Passport & Visa Express for passport photos and passport renewals/​applications.

In and out in 5 minutes for a passport photo and there was one person ahead of me. Best price around. Arezou is very nice. She showed me the photo on the screen to make sure I liked it since I will be stuck with this picture for 10 yrs! Target did my last passport photo and it took forever, so avoided there at all costs!
Would definitely recommend A1 for a painless, quick passport photo.

To be honest I selected A1 Passport & Visa Express because it is close to where I live. I couldn’t be happier. First, the website had all the forms I needed so I could fill them out before I got to the office. Second, the office was easy to find and had good hours (9 – 6). Third, the staff there was very pleasant and explained the options of timing and cost clearly and distinctly. They gave me good info so I could decide how I wanted to proceed. Fourth, I was called when my passport arrived (a day before I expected it). Fifth, pleasant and efficient when I picked u my passport. I can’t say enough good about A1. Oh, I forgot. My picture, taken at A1, is not bad either.

I have used A1 Passport several times over the past few years for visas as well as passport renewals for our office employees who travel internationally. Every time they have promptly and professionally taken care of whatever we needed, even going the extra mile to help ensure our documents were submitted under tight deadlines. I will definitely keep coming back! Renee Roth, SEIU DC

The service was awesome. I arrived just as they were opening and the woman who helped me was prepared to help me right away. She got a good photo on the first try and I was out of there and on my way within 10 minutes. I would definitely use A1 again for any service they provide.

Quick, friendly, and affordable. In and out in less than 10 minutes for passport photos. I’d certainly return.

I panicked when I saw that my daughter’s passport had expired month’s ago when we were leaving in 9 days for a trip abroad. Like another Unilocal-​er, I almost succumbed to another more expensive online company before finding A-​1. Their website directions were perfect and we were able to pull everything together in an hour before we arrived at their downtown DC office (although A-​1 also will take your picture…). They directed us to the best post office to get the paperwork stamped that day (where the postal employee praised our preparedness — thanks to A-​1), we returned the papers to A-​1 by 11am and they got the ball rolling. I got the passport in a few days in plenty of time and it was a relief to know that such experienced people were on top of it. Passport in hand, we are ready to take off.

Everyone has good days and bad days. I’m not saying Sam isn’t good at his job, but he had a very bad day when he was communicating back and forth with me. I was going to go with his service, but he told me two things that were not true.
1. You need 3 years on your passport before getting a 10 year Chinese Visa (not true because my parents both got theirs with 1 year to spare on their passport).
2. You need a flight itinerary (OR an invitation letter, but Sam insisted on having both).
After a couple emails back and forth I let Sam know I wasn’t going to go with their service anymore. I received a very rude email from Sam that ended with this,
«You should have told us that you did not want to use our service before we spent our valuable time replying to your many emails and checking your paperwork. We do not do this for free but congratulations you managed to get the service for free. That was very rude of you.»
It’s kind of surprising how rude people can really be. Maybe I am spoiled in thinking that in the service industry, when one of your customers isn’t happy, it’s your job to find out why and how you could improve your service, not to blame the customer, because trust me, I wanted to use their service very much.
Getting your visa for family emergency is stressful enough. This experience was rather unpleasant towards the end.
Update ⁷⁄₂₉: The business owner contacted me and apologized for the employee behavior (which wasn’t Sam, they were sharing an email). They have also updated their knowledge of Chinese Visa requirements to what’s correct.

I was thisclose to going to another company for this, and then I checked Unilocal to see the reviews — and found A1 had a near perfect rating, so I changed course. I am SO glad I did. Heather was super helpful on the phone and I came prepared with everything I need. I dropped my passport off on a Friday, knowing they wouldn’t be able to bring it until the following Monday morning. And like clockwork, I got a call Wednesday morning telling me it was ready to pick up! I wasn’t thrilled with myself that I let my passport renewal go so long that I had to get a private agency to do it for me before a big vacation out of the country, which commences next week and during which my passport expires — but if I would HIGHLY recommend this company to anyone else who finds themselves in the same boat. (They even took my photo for me!).
Worth every penny — and oh, yeah — they were cheaper than the other companies I called, too.

Planned a trip to the Caribbean. Looked at my passport on a Tuesday and saw it expired last month. Brought it in to Carlo on Wednesday morning and got a renewal on Friday 530.
Friendly tip: get in before 830 am and u have a better chance of same or next day service.

I needed a passport expedited in order to attend a training session in Germany for a new employer. Sam and Heather made it happen and I received my passport 3 business days later. I couldn’t be more pleased with their council and service. They were knowledgeable and patient with all my questions.

So I came to DC due to the fact that I am leaving the country in less than two weeks so I had to get a passport as soon as possible. I decided to take my passport picture at CVS but something had told me the agency wasn’t going to accept the picture. and that’s what exactly happened. I came to A1 and they knew EXACTLY what they were doing. they took a perfect picture and even help me figure out how to get back to the agency. this business is amazing.

Very knowledgeable and friendly staff. I was able to get visa advice, my passport out for renewal, and a phot taken in less than 10 minutes. It is expensive, but very convenient.