Terror Law Results in Passport Delays
Under a provision of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, all U.S. citizens must now present a passport to enter or re-enter the United States when arriving by air from any part of the Western Hemisphere. By as early as January 2008, the same restrictions may apply to land and sea travel, as well.
The new passport requirements, along with the usual spring and summer travel rush have resulted in record demand and put a major hurt on the State Department’s passport processing system. Travelers are now being advised to allow ten weeks for routine processing and four weeks for expedited passport processing.
Americans may check the status of their passport application online at http://travel.state.gov or call the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778. The call center is open from 7 a.m. to 12 midnight, Eastern Time, Monday-Friday, except federal holidays.
Comments
Try the website first, getting thru to the toll free number is nearly impossible. When you do get your passport check it carefully. Because of the volume mistakes are being made and trying to get it corrected is difficult, since the directions they give on their website are incorrect.
10 weeks isn’t accurate. My daughter’s renewal application was submitted 12 weeks ago and still no passport. Don’t drink the State Department’s Kool-Aid. Others are waiting just as long, and the phone line is a joke — makes you listen to a lengthy recorded message, then disconnects you on the grounds that too many people are already in line.
Maybe they ought to outsource the process to LL Bean, which at least knows how to answer their phones.
What the others is saying is true. The Passport Information Center phone service is a farce. Try calling at 6am or midnight: you still get the same disconnect. It would be helpful to About.com visitors to see an article on effective ways of getting through to the passport office, rather than being led to obsolete information.
What the others is saying is true. The Passport Information Center phone service is a farce. Try calling at 6am or midnight: you still get the same disconnect. It would be helpful to About.com visitors to see an article on effective ways of getting through to the passport office, rather than being led to obsolete information.
FYI… I have been waiting 10 weeks… Was told I would receive my passport in 6-8 weeks. I am scheduled to leave this week. When I finally got through, I was basically told tough luck you shouldn’t have paid for your trip without your passport in hand.. not the states fault. They suggested I drive 3 hours to the nearest agency and repay all the fees (including the expedite fee)to get a passport in 1 day. If they can create a passport in 1 day, what takes 10 weeks???
Another example of the uselessness of the Bush administration and all the a-holes who voted for him and his useless war on terror.
Is this a class action suit in the making? I have been spending about 2 hours a day for the past week trying to find the whereabouts of my passport (and my children’s). I am leaving in one week for a family reunion abroad and, if the passports don’t come through, I will lose thousands of dollars in non-refundable airline tickets. Even the “automated reservation line” for in-person passport applications cannot accept calls due to high volume. The only grievance option I have been offered is to write a letter to a “National Customer Service Manager” in Washington, DC. I am sure that will go far…
What recourse does the layperson have to recoup losses caused by the government’s inability to meet its own requirements?
Try 14 weeks and still waiting!!! What an insult. I heard there was legislation being proposed that proof of application would suffice to Canada and Mexico. Anyone know the facts?
Hi Sue — Yes, that is correct. See my article, “New Passport Restrictions Suspended” at: http://usgovinfo.about.com/b/a/217629.htm
Robert
Some terror law!! So glad they State Dept. was so brilliant in protecting our country. Now they have thousands of Americans e-mailing their Social Security Numbers to unknown congressional staffers in desperate attempts to get their passports. To solve one problem, they created another. Wait and see what happens when thousands of SSN’s are found by terrorists. This is the most pathetic administration I have EVER seen!