How Long DOES A New Passport Take?
Remember last week I reported that the State Dept's rush service for getting or renewing a passport is taking 4 weeks (rather than the usual 2) and its regular service is taking 12 weeks (rather than the usual 6)? Today's Washington Post explains that last week broke a record for passports issued: 412,000 in one week. You can't say I didn't warn you about the unprecedented demand.
The good news: The State Dept just boosted its staffing and overtime and weekend hours, so hopefully now it can cope. It says that rush service should be back to 2 weeks and routine service should take 10.
I mailed in my own renewal application on Friday, so I'll soon be able to tell you if the 2-week promise is true. I opted for expedited service, of course -- which is my recommendation for anyone who'd prefer to pay $60 rather than worry for 3 months or more about whether their passport is lost somewhere in the bowels of the State Dept. (a worry that several people I know have right now).
RSS Feeds
Omniture events in request:
Hi Wendy -
I recently experienced quite a bit of drama getting my passport renewed. In hindsight it is rather funny, but since I needed it for a trip at the time and had several apparently USELESS conversations with the passport information agency while the countdown was happening, I was rather stressed at the time. I hope they've not only staffed up but instituted some sort of inter-office communication: whenever I called, no one that I ever spoke to seemed to be aware of what was going on although everyone I spoke to was supposedly leaving instructions about what to do with my passport. I posted about it on my blog about luxury travel with children, the exact link is:
http://www.childofleisure.com/2007/02/passport-to-nowhere.html
Posted by: leian | April 04, 2007 at 05:35 PM
Makes me happy that mine and my husband's passports don't expire for another five years :)
I'd be on pins and needles if I had to apply for a passport right now.
Posted by: tracker1312 | April 09, 2007 at 11:00 AM