Passport Renewal Delays Are Shockingly Long Ahead Of Summer Travel

If you are an American planning to travel internationally this summer, don’t delay in renewing your passport. According to a statement from the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the State Department has been taking 10-13 weeks to process routine passport applications and 7-9 weeks for expedited applications. Moreover, it may take up to four weeks (two for processing and two for mailing) for your completed passport to make it back to you. The passport offices are witnessing an “unprecedented demand” with the lifting of travel restrictions and vaccine mandates across the world. The Bureau of Consular Affairs is trying its best to keep up and has even opened a satellite office and has workers and hiring underway to help cope with the increased passport applications.

Summer generally sees the highest rates of passport applications, and Americans seem to be making up for the lost time, with American travel spending rising by 9% between February 2022 and February 2023, according to data from the United States Travel Association. Overseas visits, however, are still 31% below what they were in February 2019.

The U.S. government recently tested an online renewal process for passports and is planning to roll it out nationwide this year. But with the State Department already receiving up to 500,000 new passport applications each week, the backlog may take some time to clear. Recently, Secretary of State, Antony Blinken stated that it is “really important that we be as clear and transparent as possible with people who are looking for passports to know what they can expect.”

The federal government has faced labor shortages in both the public and private sectors since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The impacts of which have been higher inflation, as employers struggle to find adequate workers and increases in pay to remain competitive. In recent news, the president announced a general pay raise of 4.1% for 2.1 million federal employees, with an additional 0.5% locality-based raise.

Airlines, too, have been impacted by similar pressures, as many commercial pilots retired due to the decline in air travel demand. Presently, American carriers lack 12,000 pilots, and 14,000 will be forced to retire within the next five years due to a federal law mandating retirements by the age of 65.