The U.S. Department of State announced on Thursday (October 3) that the processing time for U.S. passports has been expedited once again, with a maximum reduction of two weeks.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Department of State announced that starting immediately, the processing time for passports by the Bureau of Consular Affairs will be shortened from the previously promised 6-8 weeks to 4-6 weeks. The new processing time commitment applies to both paper applications and those submitted online.
The expedited processing time remains unchanged at two to three weeks.
These processing times are calculated from the date the application is received by the Department of State and do not include the time for mailing back and forth.
Two weeks before this announcement was made, the U.S. Department of State had announced that U.S. citizens can now renew their passports online. The new online passport renewal system was fully opened to the public starting from September 18, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken stating in a statement at that time that “this is an important step in ensuring that Americans can more easily access passport services.” Americans can now update their passports through a time-saving and hassle-free secure process online without having to print out paper applications and mail them with a check.
Most adults aged 25 and older can apply online, provided that their passport is valid for at least 10 years, they have the passport in hand, and they are within the United States or one of its territories.
The Department of State estimates that approximately five million Americans will be able to utilize this service each year.
The reduction in passport processing time was achieved through the efforts of bipartisan members of the U.S. Congress. A year ago, lawmakers began continuously urging the Biden administration to address the backlog and long wait times for passport applications, with two Democratic lawmakers even introducing legislation to reduce delays in passport processing.
In response to the lawmakers’ urging, the Department of State announced in mid-December last year that the regular passport processing time had been reduced to 6-8 weeks, with expedited processing time at 2-3 weeks, marking a return to pre-COVID-19 outbreak standards from March 2020.
The Department of State on Thursday acknowledged the progress made in this work and wrote in the announcement, “This announcement comes months after successfully issuing passports in accordance with the 6-8 week commitment, demonstrating our progress in continuously improving efficiency, fairness, and accessibility of the U.S. passport application process.”