As COVID-19 travel restrictions dissipate this summer, many are dusting off their luggage sets and neck pillows, anticipating exciting vacation plans.
But amidst all the booking and planning, one important factor has been getting left to the last minute – passport renewal.
"Do you have your passport? Does your passport expire anytime soon?" said Kiet Lam, President of Linden Travel Agent International, Travel Agencies & Bureau in Oakland, when a new client calls him. "Those are the two questions I ask first before anything else."
"If the answer is no, we can’t go any further," he said.
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The reason is that with so many trying to travel all at once, the State Department has been inundated with a deluge of requests.
"I went to apply for my son’s passport about a month ago," said mother Laura Cordoza. Her son was planning on going to Mexico with his uncle in a couple of weeks. "But we still haven’t received anything, and I paid for expedited shipping."
Would-be travelers can go to a passport office a couple of days before their trip, but first they have to secure an appointment online, which can be just as tricky, said Lam.
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