During a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of a new passport office in Portsmouth,New Hampshire, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Passport Services Brenda Sprague noted that the Department of State has seen a tremendous increase in the demand for fast passport services over the past few years. As quoted in the Foster’s Daily Democrat, Sprague commented that”About 30 percent of American have passports. It’s a dramatic increase over the last few years. That’s about 102 million passports today. There is a huge increase in the number of people traveling, Also, passports aren’t just used for traveling anymore, they are the easiest way to prove citizenship.”
The increased demand for fast passport services stems in part from new laws enacted after September 11th, 2001. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), the final phase of which went into effect on June 1, 2009, requires passports for all air travel and most land and sea travel between the United States, Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean. Previously, American citizens could travel to these countries with only a driver’s license and a birth certificate.
Although the new procedures have been in place for some time, they still catch infrequent travelers by surprise, resulting in the need to get a passport at the last minute. Standard processing time for a passport application is 6 weeks and sometimes longer, depending on how many applications the Department of State is processing at the time.
Expedited processing is available for an additional $ 60 fee and takes 2 to 3 weeks.
For truly fast passport processing, US citizens are advised to either make an appointment at regional passport agency office by calling 1-877-487-2778, or to use a private company like Rush My Passport to expedite the application. Both options can result in the application being processed in as little as 24 hours if required.
Alison Kroulek is a freelance writer and blogger with a focus on the travel industry.
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