Get a passport; avoid the rush

The U.S. State Department this week put out the call: Apply for your passport now. Avoid the rush.

Why now? Turnaround time on passport applications is averaging less than four weeks, says Steve Royster, spokesman for the department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, as we get past spring, the busiest time. Expedited applications, which cost extra, take two weeks, he adds. That soon could change, however, as Americans wake up and realize that, come June 2009, they’ll need a passport or special document such as a passport card to get back into the U.S. from anywhere. That’s right: anywhere.

Remember the meltdown? In spring and summer 2007, people waited for months to get their passports. That resulted from a crush of applicants after the government’s last big change in border rules. Nearly 3 million passports got backed up then, said Colin Walle, president of Local 1998 of the National Federation of Federal Employees, the union that represents passport processors.

What’s changed: The processing backlog has fallen to less than 300,000 applications in the last few weeks, Walle tells me. A big reason, he says, is that twice as many passport specialists are on board as in March 2007.

What’s next: Later this month, Royster says, a new center to produce passports will open in Tucson. Also this month, the State Department expects to begin making passport cards, a cheaper alternative to passports that you’ll be able to use to return to the U.S. by land from Canada or Mexico when the stricter rules hit next summer. (Passport cards won’t be good for air travel.)

The 411: Complicated? Oh, yes. After all, it’s the government. For a quick look at border rules and how to get the right documents, see my earlier story. For details and updates, visit the State Department’s website for travelers.

—Jane Engle, Los Angeles Times Assistant Travel Editor

[Photo: PhotoDisc]

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4, 2008 at 4:41 pm by Jane Engle and is filed under Business Travel, Europe, Global, Mexico, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a comment. Pinging is currently not allowed.