May 17, 2007
If you believe current predictions, 10 million Americans are expected to take a foreign vacation this summer. However, it’s now the end of May, and if you don’t yet have a passport, your options for international travel this summer may have just about evaporated.
There’s usually a backlog at this time of year when it comes to applying for a new passport (or renewing an expired one), but this year, that backlog has gotten out of control. On average, the delay in getting a new passport is up to 17 weeks!
That’s more than FOUR months!
And if you have to get a new passport quickly, while there are private services that can expedite your passport, be prepared to pay at least $200 or more over and above the regular government fees to get one.
And things could actually be getting worse. A new survey of nearly 2,000 travelers revealed that the majority of Americans do not know a passport is now required when returning to the U.S. via air from other Western Hemisphere countries. (The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative passed by Congress two years ago calls for all U.S. citizens leaving the country to possess a passport when re-entering the U.S. from places such as Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.)
The deadline for implementation of this requirement among travelers entering the U.S. by land or sea was extended from January 2008 until June 2009.
According to the new travelhorizons survey of 1,980 American adults just released by the Travel Industry Association and Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell, more than half of U.S. travelers (56%) could not correctly answer a question about the countries from which a passport is now required for all U.S. citizens returning by air (a passport is now required regardless of the country from which U.S. citizens are returning).
Twenty-two percent weren’t sure about the requirements, and 7% stated no passport was required for any returning resident regardless of the country visited.
The Travel Industry Association has created a special website, GetAPassportNow.com https://getapassportnow.com to provide links to relevant government sites for those needing to get American, Canadian or Mexican passports.
My advice: Even if you’re not planning to travel out of the U.S. this summer, you need to apply for that passport now.
The longer you wait, the longer that wait could be when you finally decide to apply. Don’t limit your travel options.
For more on travel documents, check out Getting Past the Passport Crunch.
Or, check out our Passports & Customs section.
