Passport Delays Stress Travelers, Federal System

A record number of passport applications has slowed the U.S. State Department’s passport processing and endangered international trips for many U.S. travelers this year.

Why it’s important: “If a passport is not valid, they might not be able to go on a trip. It’s very important,” said Christina O’Toole, a Pittsburgh-based travel advisor at Avenue Two Travel.

Behind the numbers: The surge in applications—400,000 a week in June—has the State Department on track to set records for the number of applications received and issued: at least 2 million more than it had in 2017, its previous high.

• In late March, the feds extended processing times to 10 to 13 weeks for routine service and seven to nine weeks for expedited submissions.
• The agency said it hopes to return to the pre-pandemic times of six to eight weeks and two to three weeks, respectively, by the end of 2023.
• As of late July, it has been issuing more than 97 percent of passports within stated processing times, if not sooner. But they advise travelers to apply at least six months before their trips, to be safe.

‘It was a headache’: Leigh Bukowski, a research manager at the University of Pittsburgh, applied for her 2-year-old son’s passport 11 weeks before their family planned to leave for Spain.

• As their departure neared, She paid extra to expedite the passport, then spent hours redialing passport offices, mostly waiting on hold. She even sought the help of her representative in the U.S. House.
• Eventually. she was able to get the passport days before the trip by driving more than 200 miles to Buffalo, N.Y., the nearest passport office that issues passports on the same day (with proof of an international flight).
• “It was a headache. The reward was a lovely tri