US State Department Reduces Passport Wait Times Again

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.

For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.