Skift Take
The State Department is processing passport application faster than it was prior to the pandemic. It’s catching up to the post-pandemic boom.
Americans can now expect their passport applications to be processed within four to six weeks, down from the previous six to eight weeks, the State Department announced on Thursday. Expedited passport processing times remain between two and three weeks.
The State Department had originally aimed to reduce processing times to pre-pandemic levels of six to eight weeks, a goal it achieved in December 2023. Before that, processing times had reached as high as 18 weeks in 2021.
For the 2024 fiscal year, Congress allocated $50 million to the State Department to address delays in passport and visa processing.
This improvement comes as international travel by Americans reaches record levels. Over 6.3 million U.S. citizens flew internationally in August, a 19% increase from 2019, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office.
To keep pace with the “incredible demand” for international travel, the State Department has hired additional staff, brought on customer experience experts, enhanced its website and opened passport offices in six cities, said Richard Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for state Management and Resources, during the Skift Global Forum.
On September 17, the State Department launched an online passport renewal program. “We expect that in the near future, nearly 50% of passport renewals will be processed online,” said Verma.
Currently, about 52% of Americans have a passport, according to the State Department. In fiscal year 2023, the State Department issued a record-breaking 24 million passports.
The U.S. passport is ranked the eighth most powerful in the world, granting visa-free access to 186 countries, according to the Henley Passport Index.