It wasn’t always Nancy McLaughlin’s first question. But these days the Colorado-based travel advisor cuts to the chase when clients want an overseas trip. Now she leads with, “Have you checked your passport?”
Passport processing times have increased by several weeks just since February. It now takes 10 to 13 weeks for routine processing and seven to nine weeks for expedited processing, according to the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs.
This doesn’t include the “mailing time” on each end, a euphemism meaning that your application might be in transit or sitting in a pile on someone’s desk. “It may take up to two weeks for applications to arrive by mail at a passport agency or center, and up to two weeks for customers to receive a completed passport in the mail after we print it,” a State Department official says.
Still, renewals are moving a lot faster now than during the pandemic, when travelers waited up to 18 weeks to replace their passports. But the process takes much longer than it did prior to the pandemic, when six to eight weeks for routine service was the norm and, if you ponied up for the expedited service, you might get your little blue book in as few as two weeks.
The internet is chockablock with horror stories of tearful, nail-biting travelers nearly missing their trips and misguided procrastinators going to great lengths and significant expense to push their applications across the finish line before their departure date.
“It definitely seems like things are getting worse,” McLaughlin says, noting that many of her clients who didn’t travel during the early years of the pandemic are eagerly making up for it now. “Revenge travel started last year and now everybody’s like, ‘Okay, this is it. I’m doing that trip now.’”
Unfortunately, the system strains when everyone has the same idea at the same time. “We are receiving approximately 400,000 applications each week, following higher-than-normal volumes in January through May 2023 that exceeded 500,000 applications a week,” the State Department official says. Last year, the U.S. issued a record-breaking 22 million passports, and the country is on track to top that number in 2023.
Since December 2021, when President Joe Biden signed an executive order called Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government, the government has been working on an online passport portal that’s expected to open to the public by the end of 2023. “Once fully launched, we expect five million customers to be eligible to use this platform each year to renew their passports,” the State Department official says. “We estimate this would represent two-thirds of all renewals and roughly 25% of all applications received.”
In the meantime, the best advice is to avoid landing in dire straits in the first place. The following tips can help travelers get their passport processed as quickly as possible and, should things go sideways, protect their investment.
Check Passport Requirements for Your Destination
For travel outside of the U.S., it’s not enough that your passport is unexpired. Many countries require inbound tourists to have extra padding. “Your passport can’t expire two days after you get back from your trip,” McLaughlin says. “A lot of countries require a passport to be valid six months after your trip ends.” Some popular destinations in this category include India, Kenya, Morocco, Peru, Singapore, Thailand, Turks and Caicos and Zimbabwe.
Heading to Europe? All 27 member countries of the European Union require passports to be valid at least three months beyond date of departure from the Schengen area. That means if you’re planning a weekend trip to Paris in September, your passport must be good at least through December. (And if you’re planning to stay the maximum three months in the Schengen area, you’d need an additional three months of validity on your passport.)
If you’re unsure what the rules are for your desired destination, check the country information pages on the U.S. State Department website.
If your passport is approaching its expiration date, you have options. Consider traveling to one of a handful of countries that only require passports to be valid through the end of your stay. Among this group are Argentina, Australia, Dominican Republic, Japan and the United Kingdom. For travel to Hong Kong, the requirement is one month of validity beyond the trip.
“If it’s just really, really tight,” says McLaughlin, “maybe I would suggest that this year you go to Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands or somewhere else that doesn’t require a passport. Save the big dream trip for next summer.”
Get Your Ducks in a Row
Applications frequently get delayed due to missing or improper documentation. If there is a problem, you’ll get a letter or email and the process will grind to a halt until the State Department receives your reply.
The most common reason for a processing delay is that the traveler submitted an unacceptable headshot, so it pays to review the photo requirements before sending in an application.
Don’t Forget That Kids’ Passports Expire Sooner
Planning an international trip with kids in tow can be complicated. U.S. passports for adults expire in 10 years. But passports for children under 16 have only a five-year shelf life — and they can’t be renewed by mail.
McLaughlin tells the cautionary tale of a couple who expedited their own passport renewals before a family trip overseas. “It took them a month,” she says. “Then they realized they had to get their daughter a whole new passport and they had to apply in person at the post office. But they couldn’t get an appointment at the post office for a few weeks.”
In general, both parents or legal guardians must appear in person with the child applying for a passport. If one adult has sole legal custody, additional paperwork — a divorce or adoption decree, a court order, or perhaps a death certificate from the other parent — is required.
Pony Up for Expedited Service
The most straightforward way to push your application along is to pay for it. Obtaining a new or renewed passport costs $130. For an additional $60, expedited processing can shave a month off the wait time.
If you’re really behind the eight ball and willing to pay considerably more, courier services like RushMyPassport can guide your application through all the necessary hoops. Fees are on a sliding scale, ranging from $99 for a turnaround in 11 to 14 days all the way up to $449 for a one-day miracle. That’s on top of the aforementioned government fees.
Buy the Right Insurance
Many travelers worry that if they don’t get their passport in time, they’ll lose money they’ve already spent on their trip. For clients playing the waiting game, McLaughlin often recommends springing for “cancel for any reason” travel insurance, which can add several hundred dollars to your outlay. “It can be pricey,” she says, “but if you don't have a valid passport in hand, that’s a good thing to get.”
Depending on the specific plan, a “cancel for any reason” policy typically covers up to 75% of pre-paid, non-refundable expenses and deposits should you have to cancel your trip.
Pay For Flights With Miles
One of McLaughlin’s favorite ways to hedge against forfeiting a large lump of money is to pay for airline tickets using frequent flier miles. If you don’t have enough to purchase your flights, consider paying cash to top up an award. “Sometimes buying miles can be expensive,” she says. “But a lot of times an airline will run a sale or offer a bonus, so look out for those opportunities.”
Compared to the alternative, it can be a low-risk gambit. “If my passport doesn’t come through, I can just cancel my flight and those miles go right back into my account,” McLaughlin says.
Keep Checking Your Application Status
Two weeks after submitting your paperwork, you can start monitoring your application status. You can also sign up to receive automatic status updates via email.
If your trip begins within 14 calendar days and you still haven’t received your passport, it’s time to set up an in-person appointment at a passport agency or center. Be forewarned that it may be difficult to land a reserved time at a location near your home. Prepare to spend the best part of a day waiting to present your paperwork and then waiting additional hours for your pickup time. But hopefully, you’ll walk out of the agency with your passport in hand.
So nerve-wracking is the waiting game that there are reports of people buying international plane tickets for flights they never intend to take, just to get an earlier appointment. It’s a tactic the government frowns upon. “This practice takes in-person appointments and other resources away from applicants who truly need them,” the State Department official says.
Pull Some Strings
Lastly, travelers can always turn to their local politicians for help. “I’ve heard about people turning to members of Congress to get a passport expedited,” says McLaughlin. “Elected officials do have a little power, but this strategy is not guaranteed.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher
