If you intend to travel abroad this summer, renew your passport right now.

March 4, 2023 Bangkok

If you plan to travel abroad this summer and you are a citizen of the United States, check your passport right away to make sure it is still valid.

Travelers were recently made aware of the extended processing timeframes that are now a reality for passport renewals or approvals thanks to a recent State Department Twitter advice. The typical processing time for passports at the government agency is eight to eleven weeks. Nevertheless, even expedited service may take five to seven weeks. Hence, if you need to renew your passport and want to travel in June (or at any other point this summer), the time to start is right now.

It’s also important to keep in mind that the agency’s processing estimates do not account for shipping time, which could extend the process by a few extra weeks.

Passport applications must be mailed in, which is also important. According to the State Department website, a pilot program to renew passports online was started in 2022 but was suspended earlier this month.

The website currently claims, “We temporarily stopped our online renewal service to new customers on February 7 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. We plan to occasionally reopen the service to new customers in a limited release before a complete release later this year.

When the online program was first introduced, it promised to reduce the processing time for passport renewals by 1–7 weeks, going from the customary 8–11 weeks by mail to just 5-7 weeks online.

As the online program began, the portal received applications from over 500,000 users. On the basis of client feedback, the agency is now adjusting the program.

When the service relaunches, there will be a large list of prerequisites to meet in order to be eligible for online passport processing. You must be at least 25 years old, for instance, as one of the requirements. Also, according to the State Department website, your most recent passport must have been issued between nine and fifteen years ago, have a 10-year expiration date, and be valid.

It’s also important to note that if you opt to renew a passport online, you are not able to make any changes to your name, gender, date or place of birth.

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Source: https://bit.ly/3EU7Hlu