WASHINGTON — If you are planning an international trip, you will want to make sure your passport is up to date. Otherwise, you could be in for a long wait.
The current wait time to receive your passport could take up to 18 weeks. This is significantly longer than it was before the pandemic started and could put travelers at risk of missing their trip if they don't book early enough.
After more than a year of pandemic-related lockdowns, people are ready to travel again, but the State Department closed many of its offices last year in an effort to keep employees safe, creating an enormous backlog.
That’s because of ripple effects from the pandemic that caused extreme disruptions to the process at domestic issuance facilities and overseas embassies and consulates.
The department says a backlog of 1.5 million to 2 million passport requests means that most applications submitted now probably will not be processed until the fall.
Rachel Arndt, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for passport services, said this month that the department is increasing staffing throughout the United States as pandemic restrictions are eased. But she said Americans needing to apply for or renew a passport should do so at least six months ahead of when they plan to travel.
Those without immediate travel plans are encouraged to renew their passports by mail.
Meanwhile, the State Department and Department of Homeland Security have taken steps to ease issues related to Americans abroad with expired passports who are trying to return home.
The departments announced in May that U.S. citizens who are overseas and whose passports expired on or after Jan. 1, 2020, would be able to use their documents to reenter the United States until Dec. 31, 2021. That provision does not apply to travel between other countries unless it is a transit stop.
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