by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:55 AM ET, Wed November 8, 2023
The United States Department of State announced that passport
processing times have been reduced for the second time in 2023.
According to the State Department’s website,
traditional passport processing times are down to 7-10 weeks, but that does not
include mailing times. Expedited passport wait times have been reduced to 3-5
weeks.
The processing time improvements come just a month after the
State
Department revealed that wait times in October were 8-11 weeks for routine
service and 5-7 weeks for expedited service.
In addition, the State Department also announced it broke a
record for the number of passports issued over the last fiscal year, topping more
than 24 million between October 2022 and September 2023, the most ever in U.S.
history.
“As more Americans are traveling internationally again, we
are directing resources to meet the unprecedented demand seen so far in 2023,”
a State Department representative said in a statement.
To ensure travelers get their passports on time, Americans
are asked to apply well before potential trip dates and at least 6-9 months
before the passport’s expiration date.
In August, a report claimed that the State Department’s passport
wait times ballooned to thirteen weeks as renewals reached an average of
430,000 per week. The government said the difficulties began during the end of
the pandemic, when staffing shortages and increased demand caused delays.
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