An Unprecedented Demand for U.S. Passports

According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the State Department faces a high demand for passports and has increased staffing and resources to deal with it. The current wait time is ten to thirteen weeks and about seven to nine weeks for an expedited passport.

Now the State Department receives 500,000 applications a week for passports, 30 to 40 percent more applicants this year than last year. Blinken noted that the department had launched a pilot online renewal platform so Americans who already have a passport can renew online, but it is currently down for fine-tuning; Visit here for updates.