Philippine Consulate General

Come in as early as 7 AM to be the first inline. Be prepared with a copy of the passports data page if you’re renewing and fill up the application form neatly. Be patient and follow the security guard’s instruction/​information before 9 AM. Always remember, you’re in the consulate to do business (renewal/​apply passport, notary and authentication, etc) so please keep your phone in your bag or pocket. It will not do you harm to keep it away for few hours of waiting. If you follow these just as I did, you will not feel irritated.
Staff are helpful, informative and attentive. Aside from that guy on one window that I asked if I was called because I went to the bathroom and missed it. He said not yet but the lady from the other window said my first name and that I was called.
I only suggest for the staff to dress properly especially the guys. Long sleeves with necktie will do. Overall experience dated January 19, it should be 5 stars if not for the technical problem regarding biometrics I’m finished in less 30 minutes.

Two things to remember for passport renewal: prepare required documents (filled up application form and data page photocopy), and arrive earlier than 8:30am. During my first visit, I was not allowed to proceed because the security told me that there’s too many people in line when I arrived at 2:30pm. Went back today, and the entire process took less than 30 minutes from when my number was called. The encoder and cashier were friendly enough. Now, the waiting game begins for my passport to be delivered.

Here are some helpful tips:
1. Photocopy all the documents that you need. (They charge $ 0.50 per page, Idk why they even tell you to photocopy it when they dont even take the photocopies)
2. Bring a book to read or any kind of entertainment that doesn’t require you to use your cellphone. Manong guard there is very strict about «No cellphone allowed» policy.
3. If you can, go there VERY EARLY. before they even open. The earlier you are, the less you have to wait. If you are planning to go there around noonish or afternoon be prepared to sit and wait for your turn until closing.
4. If you are planning to bring friends/​kids/​family just for shit and giggles, DON’T BRING THEM. The guard will likely tell them to step outside «because they dont have business being inside the consulate office»

Ridiculous service & terrible wait time. That obnoxious and disrespectful guard is a disgrace. He treats Filipinos like cattle. Hey, Philippine Consul — this guy is giving your office a bad impression, fire this guy!!!
You deserve 0 Stars.

this place is a joke!!! no customer service and power tripping philippine govt employees. saw this gentleman asked to leave the office for peeking out of the window telling his peer the area when the security guard told him «the consulate is very concern about the blinds, they are very sensitive, i have to ask you to leave»… the guy said nicely sorry for not knowing such policies and noting no sign is posted like the no food/​cellphone policy (no warning unlike the other people on the phones or food, getting one or two warnings) and left with a smile.
what is so sensitive and a big concern about the dusty and uneven blinds!!! where was the guy consulate the guard talking about??? i can even find better looking used blinds online… the office is in the 5^th floor of the building. been on other US federal buildings but we are not treated like fools.
then saw the guy downstairs while i am waiting and had conversation… long story short, he is so happy not to deal with it anymore «i am so blessed not to deal with this office anymore, very happy and proud to be a US citizen just accompanying my friend doing business here (as i am)… we dont disrespect people here in the US for petty things, good luck to you guys». ENOUGH SAID…

The Man who works earlier Wednesday was so nice. He helps us what to do. And also Me and my mom are the first one. They start calling numbers at 9:05 then we finished by 9:30 so overall waiting is 30 mins for me and my mom. And The lady who took picture of me was so nice. But the cashier on Window 8 is rude he’s not even talking to us he just said «$ 120 for two «because HE’s on THE CELLPHONE TALKING TO SOMEONE USING HIS HEADSET.
Tips: Get there early as much as you can. We get there at 7am and no line. Waiting of 2hours to be open.
The guard is really strict. He even sent out my Son outside. And He’s telling Kids cannot play by the window and Strictly No phones allowed.
Parking: Make sure you read all the signs of the street parking they have street cleaning on wednesday and other side will be thursday. Free parking if you park before 8: am then after that will be $ 1 per hour.
or you can park in equitable parking the cashier or the guard will give you a validation so you will pay only $ 7.

Came in at 8:45 am on a Friday morning, and there was no line. I waited about an hour to finally have my number called, and another 20 minutes to get my picture and fingerprints done. I was out there by 10:30 am so I’d say it wasn’t too bad.
The security guard is pretty strict about having your phones out, even headphones, and will make a scene if he sees you. It was pretty amusing watching him argue lol. The lady at the front was actually nice and helpful, and even apologized for the security guard. The only one that annoyed me was the lady I gave my forms to. She rolled her eyes at me when I made a minor mistake on the form.
So quick tip, go as early as possible to reduce wait time. And if you can, have a copy of the first page of your passport (with your picture) and have the forms completely filled out.
For those that got their passports renewed recently, do you guys know how long it takes to get here?

I came here yesterday to have my passport renewed. I arrived around 12:30 and was given a number. The guard in charge is a major tool! Seriously! He wouldn’t let people in because he said that the room is full so i had to go down and come back in an hour.
I came back after 45 mins. from the lobby downstairs (which doesn’t have any seats) ugh. So i was then let inside, and waited for another hour for them to call my number. When my number was called, i submit all the documents and i was asked to sit again and wait for my to be called. So i waited another for another 3 hours before i was called again for fingerprinting and photo.
Ugh!

I believe there is some sort of conspiracy going on at this place. I went in with my parents for the dual citizenship process, and noticed a few things while I was there.
Everyone was being redirected to the 3^rd floor for photos.
Everyone was being redirected to the 4^th floor for photocopies.
We need photos taken, so the lady at the front desk, Gigi, directed us to the 3^rd floor. By accident, we had gotten off at the 4^th floor. We soon learned that there are TWO places to get photographs done. Mr. Pascual helped my parents and I with the photographs, and was extremely professional and impressionable. If this review was based on my experience with him and the rest of his team on the 4^th floor, it would be 5 stars.
But, it’s not. After getting our photos taken, we went back up to the 5^th floor to finish the process. I met a man, and asked if he had done his photos, he said no. I informed him that there was good service on the 4^th floor. Naturally, he asked the lady at the front desk where to get photos taken, and again, she directed him to the 3^rd floor.
I watched and listened, she redirected several people for photos to the 3^rd floor while she recommended several others to the 4^th floor for photocopies. She even recommended us to go to the 4^th floor for photocopies as well.
I don’t know what Gigi trying to do, but it doesn’t seem fair. Go to the 3^rd floor instead. Ignore Gigi.

I agree with the other reviewer — the security guard is an a.hole. He was power tripping and thinks that his dominion includes the hallways — when I asked him why I can’t use my cellphone outside of the embassy he couldn’t give an explanation and said I am committing a federal crime and that he will arrest me. Lol — I think he thinks he is a cop. He won’t give his name and treats everyone like everyone is beneath him. I don’t understand why he still has a job — do people in the embassy not see how horrible he treats the people that come to the embassy? He is very rude. He was shouting at an old man who had a bottle of water and pointing to a sign in the wall (that said no drinking) and said can you not read? (Technically the old man was not violating the sign — he wasn’t drinking the water and there was no sign that said you can’t bring a bottle of water) — but the poor old man just stood up and threw the bottle of water (his wife said — drink the water outside sayang mahal ang tubig)
When I complained to the officer of the day — she said it is not her job to reprimand the security guy as that is someone else’s job and when I asked for explanation why I can’t use my phone outside the embassy she said it was an administrative order. I asked who gave the admin order and told her I was going to go to the building manager and ask — she couldn’t give me an answer and sent me to the consuls office to complain.
I went to the consuls office and I met a really nice lady who tried to address my concerns and said they will talk to the guard. She also offered this explanation why phones are not allowed in the embassy — it’s because people take pictures of the embassy employees and post it on social media. I guess instead of improving their service so people won’t complain in social media — they would rather close their eyes to the issue and not address the complaints.
It’s not all bad — The guy that does the notary is really nice as well as the cashier.

it’s unfortunate I have to give them a 1-​star since I’ve only been there once to obtain a dual citizenship. It took me almost 5 hours! The staff is most inefficient and the website does not answer any emails. A lot of people live faraway from Los Angeles and want them to return again for another transaction.
They want me to go to another website to «register» so now I’ve to go back and return to apply for the passport. Another day off which a lot of people can’t afford. Lots of time wasted, parking is expensive unless you get validated (make sure you get validated or pay about $ 20 for parking.

Visited 9÷21÷15. Where do I begin? LOL I went to window 11 for my report of marriage before renewing my passport. When it was finally my turn, the man behind the window browsed through my documents, pushed it back to me and said «Lunch break ko na, balik ka ng 1PM.» (It’s my lunch break, come back at 1PM.) He continued to do the same thing down to the last person in line. By 1PM I was at the window waiting too patiently it took another person in line to check with the front desk why the in-​charge wasn’t back 30 mins later only to find out that there was nobody assigned to that window anymore.
I have no idea how these other people can say that the workers are polite. I have never encountered anybody who treated us with respect, they are either rude or sarcastic save for that sweet lady on window 5. I hope her customer service is contagious.

If I can give negative stars, I would. I understand you work in a government agency. But you are a representative of the Filipino people. There is already a poor image of the Philippine government. We come here and HOPE that a facility here in the states would make an attempt to change that. Employees were incredibly rude, and down right disrespectful. We came to get a document certified, and the cashier would cut my father off and kept rolling his eyes at him. Had we not needed this to be done so badly, I would’ve reached over to grab him by the throat and thrown him across the room. Procedures and processes were so disorganized, even their own employees were blaming other employees.
Unfortunately, there’s no other facility nearby, so no one has a choice but to endure this incompetent and poor excuse of a government facility. Good luck.

ZERO stars for this horrible place. If you have a choice to avoid it, please do.
I was just here today (9÷21÷15) and I just experience the WORST customer service ever. I came by to pick up my fiancé’s passport.
Right when i got to the door, the lady instructed me to go to Window 8. There was nobody at Window 8. So I looked for another person who can assist me. I caught one of the employees attention and He then instructed me to go to Window 1, where i waited around about 10 minutes only to find out that I needed to be in Window 7. (Seems like nobody knows where anything is located this place. Mind you this place is just a box, it’s not even a big space at all.)
Now for the kicker, I politely told the guy on Window 7 (almost bald, short, wearing a blue flannel shirt, big stomach, glasses) that I am here to pick up my fiancé’s passport and I have all the supporting authorization papers and his photo ID.
This man gave me a dumb stare and responded to me in the rudest way possible. «NO, NO you cant pick it up. It has to be family. You’re not even married yet» At this point i am biting my tongue trying to explain to him that I had called a few days ago to confirm and make sure that it is possible for me to pick it up. The person i spoke to on the phone clearly told me that i am able to get it just as long as i have the proper proof that i know the person.
After explaining this to the rude man, he sarcastically commented «oh that lady is absent today» while giving me the nastiest smirk i have ever seen. I mean WHAT THE F. I would not have come to this place in the first place if i knew im not able to get it!!! Waste of my time!

Opened at 9AM. Went at 7AM there’s already people on line! Lol. Took me 30mins to renew a passport. Just have everything ready. Original birth certificate is not required if you are just renewing passport, any valid ID would work. Weird white guard on a Philippine office though. LOL If you are bringing a friend that won’t do anything inside the office, don’t bother. Guard will kick him/​her out. The only CONS are very limited locations and takes 4 MONTHS for me to get my new passport!

Terrible terrible terrible customer service! It took 4 months for them to renew my passport. No return call at all when the said release date was delayed for a month even if you call 3x a week and leave message everytime. Super chaotic and unorganized!
It seriously felt like being in the Philippines dealing with LTO service!
Their customer service is a piece of feces.

I never have a good experience at ANY Philippine Consulate in any of the countries around the world, but this was the first time things were really bad. Typically, the Consulate makes a big deal as to why my mother’s maiden name isn’t my middle name and we spend hours arguing with them because they insist on changing my legal name, but, in the end, we walk out with the same name anyway. This time, I didn’t even make it that far…
Upon arrival, I was queuing and waiting to be allowed into the Consulate. The guard was a total jerk… if I wasn’t leaning flat against the wall, he was telling me off. I am over 6 months pregnant and it is medically advised that I do not stand in one position for too long.
When I finally got to the counter, they took away the number that the guard had given me (89) and gave me a whole new number (115) so I had to wait even longer… for some reason…
After a couple of hours, I began to get hungry. I understood that we were not allowed to bring food or drink into the Consulate so I had someone bring me a granola bar and some water to drink just at the elevator lobby (which isn’t part of the Consulate area… that is public area). I stepped out of the Consulate area to the public area of the elevator lobby and the guard kept telling us off for allowing me to eat in the elevator lobby and said that food and drink were not allowed when we were not even in the Consulate area. Reminder: I am over 6 months pregnant and need food and, most importantly, need to be hydrated.
Service is completely inefficient. They have pretty much one counter for everything and, from what it looked like, one person was operating several counters. They all moved SO slowly… I know it is perfectly acceptable to be this slow in the Philippines (it’s slower than Island Time), but this is the United States now.
After some more time, the Consulate finally got to my number and they started pressing about my OTHER passport. I am a dual-​citizen due to having a birth-​right in both countries. Both countries allow dual-​citizenship IF both are a birth-​right and mine are both my birth-​right. The woman at the counter then implied that they had to call the other country to make a consultation. I wasn’t here to renew that OTHER passport… I was here to renew my Philippine passport.
I shall point out that my Philippine passport is one that I have had since as young as 6-​months of age and have been renewing it ever since. This time, the woman said they could not renew my passport without my birth certificate because my birth was never reported to the Consulate. How was my birth never reported to the Consulate when I have had this passport continuously renewed since I was 6 MONTHS OLD?! After arguing about it for awhile, the woman said that, without making a new and full document of birth to the NSO in the Philippines (!!!), I could not have my passport renewed… as there was no proof that I was born… now…after 29 years of having this passport, they insist that there has never been proof that I was born to even be eligible to have the Philippine passport.
So after several hours of this nonsense, taking the day off work, and having been a dehydrated pregnant woman, I finally walked out without my passport renewal… I DO NOT intend to try again.

Vast improvement from my last visit, and now the consulate is in a new location.
Here are some of my observation and tips:
1) Arrive early. Even if you come at 7:15am (like we did). They open at 9am. Make sure to get a stub after you check in with info desk on what your purpose is. Because I was the first person in line, I was out of the door by 9:35am.
Avoid coming on Mondays or Fridays as we were told its their busiest days.
2) Make sure to prepare your documents — the website will tell you what is needed in terms of copies needed and fees (cash seems to be the best payment option).
3) parking: there is access to the bldg parking on the side of equitable building. The consulate validates (1 hour?) for a flat rate. As the other reviews said, its $ 7. It may be expensive but street parking is limited to one hour & hard to find.
4) The consulate staff are really nice and helpful. They have always been!
5) They do not allow big groups of people waiting with you. You will be advised to go in the plaza. Minors are only allowed 1 adult to accompany them.
Overall, this is the best visit I have had. Make sure to check their website for your requirements prior to visiting!

Located on 5^th floor at the Equitable Bldg along Wilshire Ave. The Office opens at 9:00 am
Do not go on a Friday, it’s too crowded. Took my friend to renew her passport and it took us 3.5 hours to process everything. Arrived around 9:30 am and we got out around 12:30pm
Public parking is along Mariposa Street. The consulate can validate your parking pass (make sure that you take your parking pass at Window 7) but we still had to pay 7 bucks for that 3.5 hours that we stayed. You will need to pay the balance at the machine located on L2
Security is too strict. They won’t allow your company to stay with the applicant. They will ask you to wait at the ground floor or somewhere.

Be prepared to bring CASH. Oh did I mention the guard is an asshole? Yup! He is. Hahaha
The new place is cleaner but small waiting area. So i recommend not to bring extra people with you while waiting. The guard makes ur company go downstairs.
I give thumps up for the process time. I heard it’s faster.