Now is the Worst Time to Get a Passport (Which Means It’s the Best Time to Get a Passport)
The focus of my daydreams is international fishing travel. The focus of this website is international fishing travel. That’s why it’s so embarrassing to admit that I nearly made the most rookie mistake that a traveler can make – I almost allowed my passport to expire at an inopportune time.
Hanna had mentioned to me on several occasions that my passport was due to expire in February of 2024. That date just sounded so far away. I pretty much ignored her out of laziness. Our next set-in-stone international trip is Panama next May (I have trouble believing it’s that far away), but we’ve discussed trying to shoehorn in a trip in November. That may not have prompted me to act, but it got her ass in gear. A couple of weeks ago she insisted that we start the process, and I realized that it was time.
We’ve submitted the applications, but before I get into some of those details, let’s go out of temporal order and discuss why I almost screwed myself over.
What’s the Rush?
As soon as I submitted the application, my Google feed started to go crazy with stories about how it’s an historically slow time for renewing your passport. For example:
The wait for US passports is creating travel purgatory and snarling summer plans
Hoping to Travel Abroad? Don’t Put Off Your Passport Application
2 women out thousands of dollars, missed vacation over passport application delays
Articles of this sort have been repeatedly published since early in the year, but apparently I was oblivious or willfully blind.
Here’s the critical part of this. As a general rule, passports must be valid for six months beyond the date the traveler will exit the United States. Dozens of countries require you to have a passport that will be valid for at least six months upon arrival. The rub is that you have to give up your passport to the State Department in order to get it renewed. It’s not like you hold onto it, use it, and then shred, return or otherwise discard it when you get the new one.
All of that means that you have to act long before it actually expires or risk missing your planned travel – possibly at a significant expense.
Right now, apparently as the result of several factors including an unprecedented amount of international travel, the processing time for passports is 10 to 13 weeks (as opposed to 6 to 8 weeks before the pandemic). You can expedite that to 7 to 9 weeks by paying an additional $60 per person. The Secretary of State told Congress a few months back that application levels are 30-40% higher than they were pre-pandemic. Officials are trying to ramp up hiring and they’re working hundreds of hours of overtime, but it’s still not enough to handle the demand.
The Passport Renewal Application
Hanna and I thought we had it covered. We printed out the forms, took a cursory glance at the instructions (come on, who really reads the instructions carefully?) and filled things out. We’d planned to mail the documents certified mail with return receipt requested. After all, our passports were in there. If they got lost in the mail we’d be completely f’ed.
We have a great post office about a mile from our house. It’s open extended hours, most of the employees are veterans and they can be extremely helpful. Fortunately, the postal clerk we drew was one of that group. We hadn’t yet sealed the envelope, so she went through our submission line by line and pointed out some mistakes.
The photo can’t just be you holding your trophy fish. It has to be: in color, with your head a certain size; taken within the past 6 months; in front of a white or off-white background; full-face view; with a neutral facial expression,. There are several more requirements that address glasses, hearing aids, clothing, and so on. The wrong pic will get you rejected and pushed back in line.
Another limitation: You cannot pay for it with a credit card. You have to pay with a check (personal, certified, cashier’s or traveler’s) or money order payable to “US Department of State.” We ended up getting a money order from the post office because we hadn’t brought our checkbook.
Had it not been for the helpful clerk, our applications wouldn’t have gone anywhere, so assuming that you won’t get such great service, be sure to carefully read the instructions for renewing by mail.
Who Needs to Renew Their Passports Now?
If you have a gap in your international travel schedule, and your passport is scheduled to expire in the next year, it’s time to get moving. Sure, the waits are long now, but getting in line at a later date doesn’t move you up in the queue.
Remember, passports are typically valid for 10 years, but those for children under age 16 are valid for only five years.
Even if you’ve never had a passport, and have no immediate plans to leave the country, consider applying
There’s Still Hope
If you have international travel plans, or run into an emergency (e.g., death of a family member in a foreign country) and your passport is expiring or expired, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out of luck.
If you’re reaching (or should be reaching) a panicked state over your travel status, note that there are many things you can do to be more aware of where you stand, and possibly to speed up the process. For example, you can turn regular processing into expedited service, even after submission. You can also make an appointment at a passport agency, although be warned that those are in high demand.
In the long term, there may be some relief. The State Department has realized that while the delays haven’t yet reached crisis levels, they’re approaching that point – so they’re taking some steps to relieve the pressure.
For example, they’re holding “Passport Fairs” in certain cities. Most of them are for first-timer applicants and children, but if nothing else this should reduce some of the stress off the system.
In 2022, there was briefly a pilot program for limited classes of passport renewals, and it is expected that later this year that will be live again, making the process easier and assumedly quicker.
My first hope is that my previous inaction doesn’t result in any problems. I don’t want to be a cautionary tale, but I do want to spur you into action so that your travel documents are the least of your worries on your next international fishing trip.
