Have you checked your passport’s expiration date lately? Well, if you haven’t, it’s a good time to take a peek.
I was talking to a friend once about an upcoming trip. My friend mentioned that he was going through the pages of his passport and marveling at the stamps he’d collected over the ten years since getting his passport. My travel professional antenna went up and I asked, what is the expiration date on your passport? While his passport’s expiration date was beyond the dates of his upcoming trip, it did not meet the validity requirement for the country he was traveling to.
What do I mean by this?
Entry requirements for a country will indicate if you need a passport to enter, the minimum expiration date of your passport (validity period), if a visa is required, and sometimes other requirements depending on your country and purpose of travel.
Like many countries, the validity requirement for his destination was six months beyond the last date of travel. This meant that his passport needed to be renewed in advance of his trip because his passport expired before the required six months beyond his travel dates to that country. In a rush, he renewed his passport in about two weeks. That was then (2019), this is now! (2022) and the US passport agency currently has an 8 to 11 week processing period for getting a new passport or renewing your passport.
I now find myself in the same predicament. I have been traveling consistently since 2022 and now find myself with a passport that expires in December 2023 but I’m traveling to a destination that requires my passport to be valid until March 2023.
I’m now having to be strategic with renewing my passport because of the processing period with the Passport Agency and the dates of my upcoming trips. I’m sure I will need an in-person appointment. However, an in-person appointment can only be made 14 days prior to upcoming travel and I have a trip in July and in September. Since my trip in September also requires a Visa, I’ll attempt an in-person appointment prior to my July trip. Yikes!
I’ve been doing some research and have called the Passport Agency in preparation of navigating renewing my passport. If getting my passport renewed is anything like calling and getting an agent on the phone, I’m nervous. I’ve called and was advised that there are so many days they make an appointment in advance and they did not have any availability. I have to call back every day in hopes of getting an appointment. This appears to be a fete.
Fortunately for me, there’s a Passport Agency in Chicago. But, for many, their city or even state does not have an agency. They will have to travel to the nearest one which means, the cost of getting or renewing your passport can be high.
When the passport agency reopened for non-emergency services after being shut down in 2020 and part of 2021 due to the pandemic, it did so with a backlog and minimal staff. The office is still operating with a pandemic-impacted schedule.
The current processing time for standard processing is between 8 to 11 weeks. The expedited service is still available, however, it is currently five to seven weeks according to the State Department website. Also, remember that the expedited service incurs an additional fee. In the event you have an emergency situation and need immediate international travel, you can make an in-person appointment.
