Renew Your Passport Now

November 11, 2016 Zin

The State Department is warning it’s expecting a massive surge in new passport applications and renewals, possibly due to the US 2016 presidential election results between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. They have urged all travelers in need of US passport renewals to get their applications in early as possible. Passport renewals take on average six weeks but travelers are advised that wait times could be increased in the coming months.

Millions of people applied for passports in 2007 in a huge surge after a change in legislation meant that passports were mandatory for all travel between the USA and Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. At that time most of these passports were made valid for ten years, meaning that in 2017 they will be up for renewal. But with the election results some speculate there will be an increase in new passport applications as well since many people who do not hold a US passport yet, approximately 55% of the population, may be applying for one soon.

In addition, a recent change in federal law means that everyone flying on domestic American flights will have to carry ID with data chips. Most of the State IDs have already been updated to reflect this change; however Missouri, Maine and a few others have not yet. It’s unclear at this time whether they will before 2017’s new rules roll around. Frequent travelers may have to apply for a passport for their domestic flights or they could be refused at the gates.

Don’t forget to check the visa requirements of the country your destination; many countries require that your passport is valid for up to six months after your visit. Also new as of November 2016, people who wear glasses will have to remove them for their passport photos. If you have glasses on in your existing passport, this change won’t affect you until it’s time to apply for a new one.

Apply for a new passport and read through the new passport requirements here.

If you need an expedited passport and don’t know where to start watch this brief video.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *