Passport Renewals Still On Track For Four-Week Turnaround

Photo: United States Army

While Americans will renew their passports in record numbers this year, so far, the State Department is keeping renewal wait times to its four-week turnaround goal.

The crush of renewals comes as the result of a surge of Americans seeking to travel abroad, and the 10-year expiration of passports issued in 2006-07 following the passage of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). That law requires all travelers to show a valid passport or other approved secure document when traveling to the United States from areas within the Western Hemisphere.

“We’re on track and expect to issue 17.5 million passports this fiscal year (ending Sept. 30) and 20 million in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2016,” said Ashley Garrigus, a State Department spokeswoman. The State Department issued more than 30 million passports in 2006 and 2007, Garrigus said.

The number of new passport applications is higher than ever, Garrigus said. Currently, 39% of U.S. citizens have one.

The law was enacted by the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security to strengthen border security and facilitate entry into the United States for both U.S. citizens and foreign visitors. It spurred a surge among the large group of U.S. travelers who frequently cross the Mexico and Canada borders. Previously, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers accepted verbal declarations of citizenship from U.S., Canadian, and Bermudian travelers as proof of citizenship at sea and land ports of entry.

The State Department has been planning for the surge for some time, increasing the number of its employees in passport services by 40%, from 1,500 in 2007 to 2,100 today.

Other passport issues
While the media has focused on the passport renewal issue, Garrigus pointed out some other recent developments that are having an impact on travelers. She noted that countries operating under the European Union’s Schengen Convention are enforcing a requirement that a passport be valid for at least three months beyond a traveler’s intended date of departure. A few Caribbean nations also have this requirement.

“These countries will turn you back at the U.S. departure point,” she said. “It’s caused a lot of hiccups for travelers.” The State Department is recommending U.S. citizens renew their passports if they have less than six months left before its expiration date.

Countries party to the Schengen Convention include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

“What we see every Monday morning are people who missed their flights on the weekend because they were denied, and now they need expedited paperwork,” she said.