Virginia Sen. Mark Warner says three things can help the passport office speed up the process of applications.
Carlo Aalst applied for his passport online in January, but after six months of waiting, he had to show up in person in Washington, D.C. for help.
And he's not alone. Americans nationwide have complained of missed trips because of the passport backlog. The delay forced Aalst to miss a planned trip to Italy in March, and now he's due to travel to Ecuador in two days to visit his ailing mother. He was able to be seen in person Friday, but that took a stroke of luck.
Sen. Mark Warner says his office has seen a big increase in constituents needing help with passport delays."The effect of COVID drove down the revenues, drove down people wanting to renew. We're getting through this surge, but people shouldn't have to travel across the country to get their passport renewed, or wait in line three hours on a phone call," said Warner.
In the coming months, Warner says three things can speed up processing times: Resuming online passport applications in January, hiring more staff to work at call centers, and increasing the fee for expedited passports.
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