Any American needing a passport to travel outside the U.S. in the near future had better get their applications in quickly.
The State Department says processing delays amid "unprecedented demand" mean it could now take more than four months to receive a passport.
The agency recently extended estimated processing times by two weeks to an estimated 10 to 13 weeks for routine applications and 7 to 9 weeks for expedited submissions.
Add on two weeks for mailing in an expired passport and another two weeks in the mail for receiving the new one, and eager travelers should expect a wait time extending into August if they begin the process today.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked about the delays in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee last week, when he explained "an unprecedented demand for renewed travel" has resulted in the agency receiving roughly 500,000 passport applications a week – a 30% to 40% increase from last year.
Blinken said the State Department issued a record 22 million passports in fiscal year 2022, and the agency is on track to break that record in 2023.
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The secretary of state said during the COVID-19 pandemic, "the bottom basically dropped out of the system" at the department for handling both passports and visas due to travel demand plummeting because of the pandemic, and the agency is still rebuilding while trying to keep up with the enormous surge in demand.
Blinken also expressed optimism that processing will improve once the State Department rolls out an option for current passport holders to renew online, which is currently being tested in a pilot program.
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He did not give a timeline for when that option is expected to become available, but said that roughly 65% of renewal customers will be able to do so online when the program is rolled out.
