The Ray-Ban Meta AI-powered glasses are getting a feature for live voice translation.
18.09.2024 - 01:09 / skift.com / Antony Blinken / Meghna Maharishi
The U.S. State Department’s online passport renewal program will go live September 18, according to Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma.
“We think in the not too distant future, nearly 50% of passport renewals will be done online,” Verma said at the Skift Global Forum in New York Tuesday.
Verma said the process will be a “digitized application,” but cautioned that it wouldn’t necessarily be faster than renewing a passport in-person.
“We are back to pre-pandemic levels,” he said. “Six to eight weeks for a regular service, two to three weeks for an expedited service. That will continue to be the case even through the online platform. But the ease of doing it and the customer experience, hopefully will be much better.”
The State Department recently began beta testing online passport renewal. Online renewal was available to U.S. citizens over the age of 25, with a limited number of slots opening daily at 1 p.m. ET.
Verma said 200,000 people have already participated in the online program. Some of the requirements for online passport renewal include that a person needs to be based in the U.S., not abroad; a passport needs to have been valid for 10 years; and a passport cannot be expired for more than five years.
“We think it’s going to be an enormously positive experience for people,” Verma said.
The announcement comes as the Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the department would establish dozens of new passport offices to meet growing demand.
Applications for passports have soared as more Americans are traveling abroad in high numbers. In March 2024, over 9 million Americans traveled abroad, a 15.4% increase from last year, according to the International Trade Administration.
Shortly after the pandemic, the State Department struggled with lengthy delays for processing passports. Processing times were as long as 18 weeks in 2021 as the department faced unprecedented demand.
Blinken said in December that the State Department managed to get passport processing times back to pre-pandemic levels, taking six to eight weeks.
The Ray-Ban Meta AI-powered glasses are getting a feature for live voice translation.
We’re well-practiced at carrying our driver’s licenses in the US, but it might surprise you that there are countries in Europe where it is illegal to venture out without your passport.
Not all oceanside vacations are created equal, and one trip to Wilmington and our island beaches will show you why we’re the crown jewel of coastal getaways in the Carolinas. With the city’s historic River District and Riverwalk, along with three island beaches just minutes away, there’s plenty to explore. Expect to encounter turquoise waters, exceptional sand, one-of-a-kind nature escapes, and award-winning chefs and breweries — just a few of the many attractions you’ll fall in love with on this slice of the North Carolina coast.
Thailand is a popular destination for tourists from around the world. The country, especially popular with digital nomads, attracted more than 11 million foreign visitors in 2022, most of whom go to relax on tropical beaches, have a cultural experience at Buddhist temples, or soak in the energy of bustling cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
The Casbah Coffee Club, a cultural landmark for Beatles fans in Liverpool, England, has recently opened its doors to Airbnb guests. It’s here, in this basement of this home, where The Beatles played some of their earliest gigs.
I met my partner in New Orleans right before COVID changed everything, and I never thought our relationship would involve dealing with international borders and visa rules. As an Australian, I was used to long-haul flights, but the emotional challenges were something I didn't expect.
As Apple and Google respectively expand their digital ID technologies to house state mobile driver's licenses in Apple and Google Wallet, Google has added an international travel feature to its wallet.
Singapore has risen to the top of a ranking of the world’s strongest passports, knocking Spain off the top spot.
As an Australian living in New Orleans, I travel home about four times a year, always seeking ways to make the long journey more enjoyable.
This as-told-to essay is based on an in-person interview with Goda Ponomariovaitė, a 22-year-old Lithuanian student living in Vilnius.
On a cloudy day in Portland, Maine, with the sound of seagulls cawing overhead and the air thick with the smell of salty water, I spied him: TikTok's most famous lobsterman, dressed in a Luke's Lobster T-shirt and accompanied by a bearded camera operator, ready to catch content at any moment.
Southwest Airlines just made a favorable change to its unique, decades-long Companion Pass program, which allows for buy-one, get-one flights for a designated travel partner.