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.
Online Passport Renewal to Go Live Wednesday
18.09.2024 - 01:09 / skift.com / Antony Blinken / Meghna Maharishi / Richard Verma
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.
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