PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Who needs a vacation? Apparently, a lot of us.
The U.S. State Department says it’s working through unprecedented demand for new passports and renewals.
“The state department is handling half a million passport applications a week now, which is about 30 to 40 percent higher than last year,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
It takes about three months to get a passport and about two months to process an expedited application request.
Blinken says they’re doing what they can to work through this.
“We’ve hired staff to increase the adjudicative capacity to make sure we have the customer service phone lines manned. We have more people in the pipeline, and that’s also reflected in the budget. It’s hugely important. I have a task force at headquarters to marshal all of these efforts.”
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Visas are also a priority. Blinken noted they want to get back to pre-pandemic levels for Visas and have been working to make it easier for students, temporary workers and business travelers to enter the country. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is still required for people from other nations who want to legally enter the U.S.
An online passport renewal system was launched, then taken down to make some necessary improvements. Blinken says the website will help a lot once it’s back up and running.