William Simpson
US travelers can now renew their passport online under a US State Department pilot program released On thursday.
The State Department’s new online system will allow U.S. passport holders to start a renewal application for a short period of time each day, closing once the system reaches a designated number of new applications, officials said in a statement. communicated. declaration. The agency is preparing to fully launch the renewal system at some point after testing, but has not given an exact date.
If successful, an online renewal system could shorten the sometimes months-long process travelers experience when trying to update your passport.
“Over the next few months, we intend to continue to limit the number of applications accepted daily so that we can monitor system performance in real time,” the department said. “If you can’t launch your app, try again on another day.”
Passport processing has become a growing problem for the State Department since COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted, with the agency bombarded with an overwhelming number of applications each week. The passport application backlog grew so much last year that federal lawmakers from California, Colorado and Oklahoma introduced separate proposals to the Senate to speed up the application process.
Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma proposed legislation This would improve online tracking of passport applications and allow the State Department to hire more employees. Democratic Representatives Adam Schiff and Ted Lieu of California introduced the PASSPORT Law to speed up the passport application and renewal process.
The number of Americans with valid U.S. passports has grown about 10% faster than the population over the past three decades, said Jay Zagorsky, an economist at Boston University. Only 5% of Americans had a passport in 1990, according to the State Department. That number grew to 48% in December.
The State Department issued a record 24 million passports in 2023. Wait times for passport applications and renewals returned to normal period of 6 to 8 weeks in Decemberthe State Department he said.
Renewing your passport online involves a six-step process:
- To create a free MyTravelGov online account.
- After account creation, log in and start a renewal request by clicking the “Renew your passport” button.
- In the form that appears, fill in all fields with the information currently printed on your passport.
- Enter your plans to travel internationally if your departure is within the next eight weeks.
- Upload a JPEG photo of yourself. No selfies.
- Pay the passport renewal fee and digitally sign the application.
Visit the Department of State’s online renewal website for more details.
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