Kathmandu, May 18 -- At around Friday noon, hundreds of people had gathered outside Room 18, the grievance and complaints section of the Department of Passports in Tripureshwar, Kathmandu. In the midday heat, they were visibly exhausted. Some sat on the floor, while others milled about, clutching documents and receipts in their hands.

They had each paid Rs12,000 for a passport that was supposed to arrive in three days. But the deadline had already passed.

"I was told I'd get it by Wednesday," said Nim Dorje Sherpa from Bhojpur, who applied for the passport on Monday. "It's already Friday. But I still haven't received it."

Sherpa had arrived in Kathmandu from Bhojpur, hoping to get his passport quickly and to be able to process for his ...