Last July, I wrote a piece about how the government has just quietly tripled how long it would take to get a passport.
About six months have passed and although I knew the same issues that were besieging the State Department in July are still problems now, I was trying to be an optimist and hoped the wait time has decreased.
Here’s how they’re doing.
The wait time hasn’t decreased. In fact, depending on where you look, it looks like it may have gone up a bit.
According to Travel.State.Gov
Their documented wait times are exactly the same as they were in July. 6-8 weeks for routine, 2-3 weeks for expedited service and 8 business days if it’s expedited at an agency (not including mailing time).
According to Passport Waiting Time
Passport Waiting Time is a private entity that uses crowdsourced information to report the average length of time it takes for U.S. citizens to get their passports.
6 months ago:
Most recent entry:
29 days (now) as opposed to 22 days (6 months ago) for first-timers, 23 days (now) vs. 19 days (6 months ago) for renewals. Well, isn’t that special?
But hey, at least it’s better than what the government says it’ll be. I guess they’re taking a page from the theme park handbook: “Quote a longer time than you think it’s going to be and if it’s shorter, people will be happy.”
What about Global Entry?
Oh, it’s still very much a mess. The Department of Homeland Security is still blaming the government shutdown (which happened, hello, A YEAR AGO!) for their problems and is recommending that applicants for Global Entry (GE), “should expect significant delays in application processing times and limited appointment availability at TTP enrollment centers.” And that, “conditionally approved GE members should seek to complete their GE interviews without an appointment upon arrival from an international flight at any of the 49 airports participating in CBP’s Enrollment on Arrival (EoA) program.”
So yeah…just show up and maybe we can see you. If we can’t, too bad, so sad. And if you’re arriving at a U.S. international airport that isn’t one of the 49 that are participating in the program, oh well {shrug} (actually if you go to this page the U.S. Customs & Border Protection website, they do have a page where you can schedule an appointment. It might be in a few days, a few weeks or a few months, depending on location).
But hey, at least if you already have Global Entry and are just renewing, they’re giving you a one year grace period. You know, to help them catch up. #rolleyes
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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