DALLAS — The U.S. Department of State says it’s dealing with a record passport backlog as summer quickly approaches.
Last year, it processed a record 22 million passport applications, about 40% of which were renewals, and this year it’s already 40% ahead of that pace.
Alex Ramsey with All Aboard Travel says not only are more people traveling as COVID-19 cases have fallen but the pandemic has also changed people’s mindsets.
“Life is too short,” she said. “I’m not going to put off what I’ve wanted all my life.”
That sudden change in travel, though, has left many not remembering the one item they can’t forget to pack.
“They don’t even think about the passport and then when they do reality hits, and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh’,” she said.
Andres Rodriguez with US passport services say the times are up to 10-13 weeks for standard and 7-9 weeks for expedited service for a $60 charge.
“I think we’re in new territory right now. We are issuing more passports than ever,” Andres Rodriguez, with the U.S. Department of State’s Passport Services said. “We’re doing everything we can to turn around workloads within the time frames that we announce.”
Rodriguez said seeing “processing” as the online status for a passport online is a good sign and the passport office will inform applicants if there’s an issue. Rodriguez said passport employees can’t determine through their systems how far along in the process a passport is, though.
He added the state department has hired hundreds of new workers and is paying for thousands of overtime hours every week.
Ramsey says a common slip up is not realizing passports for kids under 16 expire after five years, not 10.
“This dad called me, and he said, ‘Oh my goodness, I just found out my son who’s in college doesn’t have it, what do I do’,” Ramsey said.
Another issue is some countries require 6 months validity left when you travel. The state department suggests looking up countries before travel to see if there are any special travel restrictions.
“That not a ‘oh, whatever’. It’s a thing,” Ramsey said. “That’s something that you have to be very much aware of and it’s not the kind of thing that they post in bold letters.”
The State Department has emergency service at 26 facilities across the country for people traveling within two weeks and there are expediting companies that do similar services as well because it can be very difficult to find appointments.
“It’s a handsome fee if they help,” Ramsey said of the third-party expeditors. “But I’ve never heard anyone complain that they weren’t reliable.”
The State Department’s only tip is to plan ahead.
“Worrying about something over which you have no control isn’t going to help really,” Ramsey said.