‘Feds poised to suspend new rules requiring passports to cross…’
‘US Planning to Ease Rules on Passports, Official Says…’
‘Family Worries Passports Won’t Be Ready For Vacation…’
‘Passports coming … maybe’
These are just a few of the headlines today regarding the now 12 week, yes that’s right, 4 month wait for you to receive your passport. The backlog has grown dramatically as the hot summer travel season approaches. Now that people are in a state of wholehearted panic and travel agents are stressed out beyond belief comes the announcement that maybe, just maybe, the U.S. Government might temporarily waive the requirement that U.S. citizens are required to hold a valid passport for air travel between the United States and Canada and the United States and Mexico.
The catch… prove that you applied for but have not yet received your passport. Travelers will now have to present a State Department receipt showing their passport application is being processed, and a government-issued ID such as a driver’s license.
Umm, ok, so if you have to get a receipt from the State Department, why can’t you just get your passport? We offer counsel to our customers on various travel issues and questions every single day. Our office and every other travel agency office that I am aware of has actively, for at least the past year, advised our customers to apply for their passports NOW. Do not delay! At the moment we have at least 10 customers waiting and waiting and waiting for the passports that should have arrived 2 weeks ago.
In the meantime, if you would like to check the status of your application, click here .
Filed under: Travel Industry
I can’t help but feel badly for the people who have all paid the extra $100 to expedite their passports or worse, those who chose not to travel because they couldn’t be assured of getting the passport back in time. The government should have anticipated this, because we sure dd!