“My passport photo is so bad and now I’m offended that they know it’s me lol,” someone claimed. ‘”I woulda never showed my face at that airport again,” another said.

The organizers advised that I should update my legal pathway by obtaining a new passport with the old name and new gender marker immediately (cost: $190, not including $31.40 for second-day air ...

But my timing was off. My son, then 11, left his passport on the Air France flight. And, of course, once my family had disembarked, they would not let us back on the plane.

I got my passport 17 days after submitting the online request for renewal—so about two and a half weeks. That's less than half the time I was asked to budget.