Passport delays are still long: Apply at least 6 months ahead of travel, says State Department
Long waits to receive new passports haven't yet eased from earlier this year, as the U.S. State Department works through a backlog of applications amid high demand for international travel.
While the State Department expects delays to shorten through the rest of 2023, travelers should continue to plan well ahead, a Department spokesperson said.
The Department's message to U.S. citizens: Apply at least six months in advance of your planned travel or passport expiration date, the spokesperson said.
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More Americans planned trips abroad this year as their pandemic-era health fears waned and countries largely reopened their borders to visitors.
The State Department issued a record 22 million passports in fiscal year 2022. It's on track to break that record again in fiscal year 2023, which ends Sept. 30, a spokesperson said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified to Congress in March that the volume of passport applications has been «unprecedented.» Applications typically ebb and flow with the seasons, peaking from March to late summer, but «basically it's full time now,» Blinken said.
The Department also had to re-staff positions that were reassigned or eliminated when passport demand cratered in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic.
The State Department's six-month recommendation takes into account longer processing times, as well as padding for things like mailing on both ends of the process.
Americans should review current processing times before making any definite or non-refundable travel
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