by Donald Wood
Last updated: 2:45 PM ET, Mon December 18, 2023
The United States Department of State announced that processing
times for passports have returned to the standard set before the
coronavirus pandemic.
Starting December 18, the State Department revealed that passport
applications will be processed within 6-8 weeks for routine service and 2-3
weeks for expedited service, which costs an additional $60.
The most recent improvement marks the third time that passport
processing times have been reduced in 2023, after the State Department said
in November that processing times were down to 7-10 weeks for standard and 3-5
weeks for expedited.
In October, government officials announced that wait times 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.
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