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Tips to getting your passport in time amid record-breaking demand
Record demand is increasing the time it takes to get a passport. FOX 26's Heather Sullivan has some smart sense on how you can get your passport in time.
HOUSTON - Thousands of travelers are having to reschedule international summer trips, or are worried they won't get their passports in time. Record demand is nearly doubling the wait time.
But there are a few secrets that might help you get your passport faster.
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"We started putting together reservations for hotels and flights and stuff like that, and that was about the time I was like, I need to renew my passport," said Mark Woodburn.
Woodburn, a FOX 26 photojournalist, thought sending in his passport renewal three months before a trip to Scotland would be plenty of time.
"Then I noticed they bumped up the time from seven to nine weeks to 10–13 weeks," he discovered.
But time ticked by. With two weeks left before their departure, he and his wife called the National Passport Information Center, but were told appointments in Houston were booked up.
"That’s when the panic started to set in," Woodburn said.
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Demand for passports is at a record high. The U.S. State Department says what used to take six to eight weeks is now taking 10 to 13 weeks. Expedited applications, which cost an extra $60, still take seven to nine weeks.
If this is your first passport or a passport for kids, you must make an appointment to apply in person. You can renew passports through the mail.
If you're traveling within two weeks, you can call the National Passport Information Center at (877) 487-2778 for an appointment, but appointments are going fast. Woodburn considered driving to an office in Hot Springs, Arkansas, just to get an appointment.
"That’s about a seven-hour drive. And I was like you know what, it's not that bad, I can do it," he said.
There are private passport courier services, but the State Department says don't expect to receive it faster.
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You can call your Congressional office, though Congress members say they're flooded with requests and can't help everyone. But that's what Woodburn ultimately did and received his passport in the nick of time.
"I’m very relieved, so relieved," he said.
Avoid the most common mistakes that cause passport delays: errors on your application and photos that don't meet the requirements.
In Houston, the Passport Agency is in the Mickey Leland building at 1919 Smith Street, 4th Floor, Houston, TX, 77002.