Why You Need to Check Your Passport Now if Traveling Internationally – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

What you should know

• Your passport must be valid for at least six months after you start your trip abroad.
• Passports for adults are valid for 10 years, passports for children under 16 are valid for five years.
• Under the current conditions, the waiting time for passport processing is 18 weeks for routine service.

International travel is picking up again, but if you’re looking to take off for an exotic destination, take a look at your passport. If it’s about to expire, you may already have a problem.

Mitzi Sartain’s family planned to go to the Turks and Caicos Islands for the summer vacation, but realized that their passport would expire within three months.

Knowing that she needed a passport that was valid for at least six months after her international travel began, she went to the North Dallas Passport Government Center.

“I went there on the day of my appointment and spoke to a gentleman there who told me that I would actually need it as it was an extension pass that I would have to post,” she recalled. “I asked, ‘Do I have to speed this up?’ and he said, ‘No, you don’t have to rush this, you have plenty of time, just go to the post office and put it in the mail and you should get it in time for your trip.’ “

She sent her documents straight to a processing center, but weeks and weeks later – still no passport, no replies and no personal emergency appointment.

“It was kind of a nightmare, from contacting me I called the State Department every day and tried to reach them. Sometimes I was on hold for two hours, sometimes I was on hold for four hours,” said Sartain. “It’s like banging your head against the wall, you can’t get through on the phone, you can’t make an appointment online, it’s a very frustrating process.”

Sartain even considered leaving the state to get her passport.

“I get up at midnight every night, log into the website to see if there’s a reasonable appointment anywhere in the nation that might be open.”

Sartain is like many, many people across the country ready to fly to international destinations, but State Department passport operations have not yet caught up due to COVID-related staffing restrictions. The US mail service is also delayed.

“We see operational increases every day,” said Laura Pascarella from the Foreign Ministry. “But for people planning to travel for the summer and calculating when to submit the application in order to take the X trip, they need to understand that passport processing times have been extended.”

State Department Passport Tips

• Submit your passport application via trackable mail.
• Pay an additional fee for 1-2 day delivery for the return of your passport.
• You can renew your passport at any time, you don’t have to wait for it to expire.

How long does it take?

Under current conditions, this time for routine service is 18 weeks – from the day you mail your application to the day you can expect to receive your document. That is 12 weeks processing time and up to 6 weeks shipping time.

If you expedite the service for an additional $ 60, it can take up to 12 weeks from the day you submit your application to the day you receive a new passport.

Remember, people with life saving emergencies come first. “It means that the number of available general travel appointments is currently falling,” said Pascarella.

Sartain got her passport in time for her family vacation, but she has a warning for others.

“I never thought I would run into it, or never dreamed it would be such a process. I would definitely recommend everyone – plan well in advance,” said Sartain.

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