The U.S. State Department recently announced an increase in passport processing times amid surging demand for international travel.
As of March 24, it's taking anywhere from 10 to 13 weeks for routine processing while expedited service-which costs an extra $60-is taking between seven and nine weeks on average. The demand for new and renewed passports is compounded by the fact that a new online passport renewal platform has been put on hold while it's being fined tuned and improved.
You typically want to renew your passport about nine months before it's set to expire but extended wait times mean that travelers will want to take action further out if they have international travel plans in the future.
The best advice we can give is to allow yourself plenty of time and consider paying for the expedited service to give yourself a bit more leeway. If your expiring passport is still in good shape, was issued within the last 15 years and after you turned 16 years old you can renew it by mail.
Fill out the DS-82 passport renewal application, which you'll send in with your expiring passport, fees and two-by-two-inch photo which you can have taken properly at your local CVS or Walgreens, for example.
The State Department even offers a passport fee calculator for users to determine the exact amount they'll need to write their check for. Additionally, the State Department has a photo tool that travelers can use to crop and size their photos if they already have one that meets the necessary requirements.
You can begin to track your application status online about two weeks after you've mailed it in. Keep in mind that mailing times are not included in processing times and officials warn that it could take up to two weeks for your mailed passport application to arrive at an agency and another two weeks for it to reach your mailbox after being printed.
If waiting several weeks isn't an option you can request an appointment at a passport agency but this is only for emergency or urgent travel. Applicants must be "traveling within 72 hours" or three business days. "This is only in an emergency such as a serious illness, injury, or death in your immediate family," the U.S. government says.
For those with urgent travel within two weeks, officials will require "proof of immediate international travel" such as purchased airline or cruise tickets.
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