Candese Charles Tue, April 4, 2023 at 12:03 PM GMT+2 LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — If you’re looking to travel abroad and need a passport, you’re not the only one. Currently, the rush of applications has pushed the wait time to several months. “We’re getting 500,000 applications a week for passports,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said March 24, calling the renewed demand for travel “unprecedented.” The State Department warns it is taking 10 to 13 weeks to receive a passport and the expedited process, which costs an extra $60, will take seven to nine weeks. Staffing shortages are being blamed for some of the delays. Trying to get an appointment at one of the 20 passport centers in Clark County, Nevada is leaving some people
Tag: Passports
Need a Passport Be Prepared to Wait 12 to 18 Weeks
Travel is being booked at a break neck pace and with it is coming some growing pains. One of the biggest has been an increase in the time it takes to get a passport. While the travel advisor business is finally coming back up to speed, passport wait times are stretching out as far as 18 weeks now. Many clients have to cancel/postpone trips due to the passport not coming in time. The State Department is adding staff to help with the delays. Over 150 staff will return to work at 21 agencies across the country, which could help increase capacity, which will help applications move along. However, there is going to be a ramping-up period, so applicants are still asked to remain
What’s this I hear about Vaccine Passports in our futures?
The future of travel during Covid-19 So you got the Covid-19 vaccine. Is it a ticket to take a trip wherever you want? Some tourist destinations say yes, as the concept of a “vaccine passport” circulates around the world. While this is a problem-solving suggestion that could work for travel companies, tourists, doctors, and governments, the idea also comes with some major concerns and dilemmas, from efficacy to ethics. Here are the main points to consider as you start to hear more about vaccine passports. What is a vaccine passport? In theory, the idea is very straightforward: You get the Covid-19 vaccine (after doing the full course—right now, it’s two doses) and the vaccination card that you’ve been given will act as an entry pass into
Coronavirus related backlog of Passports are now being processed again
The State Department has resumed processing U.S. passports to clear a backlog of 1.7 million pending applications before it can start tackling new requests, officials said Friday. Carl Risch, the assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, said 11 of the 29 passport agencies and centers around the United States that reduced services as the coronavirus began to spread have started Phase 1 on the road to normal. About half the agency’s passport workers have returned to their offices. Passport applications will be processed on a “first in, first out” basis. Risch estimated it will take six to eight weeks to clear the backlog dating from late February. The 1.7 million pending applications represent a little more than the average workload every month. Only then