Routine renewals, as well as new passport applications, are taking as long as 13 weeks to complete, according to the State Department. Add mailing times, and you could be looking at nearly four months for a new passport.
The long delays are stressing out summer travelers and causing some to postpone or cancel long-planned trips.
A department spokesperson said the agency is learning from the experience and hopes to bring back online renewals in late 2023. The answer was a quick Google search away. Fortunately, Ireland doesn’t have any special passport requirements, other than the document be valid for the dates of travel. And if you’re really in a hurry -- with plans to travel out of the country in the next 14 days -- you can try for an appointment at one of 26 agencies.
Some frustrated travelers have reached out to members of Congress for help. One senator, Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia, received so many complaints from constituents earlier this year, particularly about the online renewal system, that he wrote to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken demanding answers.
“These processing delays and subsequent influx of requests to Congressional offices cause added stress for our constituents around long-planned travel and sometimes require them to pay additional money for expedited processing and/or overnight shipping fees they otherwise would not have pursued. Meanwhile, congressional offices are having to dedicate additional time and resources that could be devoted to other constituent service demands,” said the letter, signed by Northeast Ohio Reps.
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