by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:30 AM ET, Tue December 14, 2021
United States President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order designed to modernize several major government services, including the ability to renew passports online and the implementation of technology to speed up airport wait times.
According to The Washington Post, the new Executive Order was signed into law on Monday and permits the State Department to create a safe a secure way for travelers to renew their passports online.
U.S. citizens currently looking to renew their passports must use in-person or mail-facilitated renewal processes, which can take between 8-11 weeks. The White House order said the online renewals would be completed within 5-7 weeks.
While the Executive Order is now law, a timetable for when the digital passport renewal will go live was not revealed.
"The Secretary of State shall design and deliver a new online passport renewal experience that does not require any physical documents to be mailed," the White House said in its official explanation of the new law.
In addition, the Secretary of Homeland Security was tasked with testing innovative technologies at airport security checkpoints to reduce passenger wait times.
The agency will also provide new opportunities for customers to connect with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), including online chat, improved communication during screenings and additional mechanisms to provide customer feedback.
Earlier this month, President Biden announced stricter testing and quarantine requirements for international travelers arriving in the country due to the surge of new COVID-19 cases related to the Omicron variant.
Instead of the three-day testing requirement, travelers entering the country by air will have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within one day of departure, regardless of vaccination status or nationality.
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