Holiday season is the best time to ask Santa for a passport

I hate to nag, but please add this to your holiday to-do list: Get a passport and beat the rush.

Right now, turnaround times are running about three weeks, the State Department says, a week less than during the summer. But come next year, with tighter border rules looming, you could face a long wait.

What’s happening now?: “This is traditionally a slow time of year for passport applications,” said Howard Josephs, customer service manager at the Los Angeles Passport Agency. Many people are busy with the holidays, he explained, and haven’t started thinking about their summer trips. In fact, the L.A. agency in fiscal year 2008, which ended Sept. 30, processed about 25% fewer applications than last year, Josephs said, as the economy slowed and some border-rule changes got pushed into 2009.

What’s happening next?: I almost hesitate to say, given how many times the deadlines have changed for the government’s so-called Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. But the official word is that starting June 1,

most U.S. citizens returning to the U.S. by land or sea from Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda will need to show a passport or passport card. (If you’re traveling by air to or from any foreign country, you already need a passport.) The result could be a crush of applications and an epic backup like the one in spring 2007, which saw some passports delayed for months.

Should you get a passport card? These cards, which the government began issuing this year, cost less than passports ($45 versus $100 for adult, first-time applicants) but have limited uses. They permit you to return by land or sea only from Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda. They’re not good for air travel or other foreign destinations. My advice: Get a passport because it’s more versatile, and like the card, it’s good for 10 years.

How do you apply? The State Department’s travel website has all the details.

— Jane Engle, assistant Los Angeles Times Travel editor

[Photo credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Friday, December 12, 2008 at 6:00 am by Jane Engle and is filed under Airline travel, Business Travel, Caribbean, Central America, Frequent Flier, Global, Latin America & Caribbean, Mexico, News, Tips & Advice, Tours & Cruises. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.