Summertime is travel time. With families across the US heading off on their summer vacations, the summer is when we always see a passport rush. The US State Department has been experiencing a high volume of passport applications all year. With summer upon us, the number of passport applications is only increasing!
If you need a passport urgently for your summer travel, G3 can help you beat the passport rush.
Why is the State Department Experiencing a Passport Rush?
The summertime is always a popular time for travelers to apply for passports. If you are a business traveler, the summer is an ideal time to renew your passport, when you have a break between business trips. If you are a leisure traveler, you’ve probably got a summer trip planned. It’s a great time for you to travel, since the kids are out of school. Even if you aren’t traveling with children, you might want to take a relaxing summer vacation while things are quiet at work. And as you get ready for your trip, you may discover that someone in the family has an expired passport (especially kids, as their passports are only valid for 5 years), or a passport that’s out of blank pages, or simply can’t find their passport at all! All of these factors add up to lots of people trying to get rush passport services at the same time.
This year, there are way more passport applications than normal because 2017 is the 10 year anniversary of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). The WHTI is the law that requires you to have a passport for all trips in and out of the United States, even to destinations like Mexico or the Caribbean. When the law went into effect in January 2007, there was a massive surge of people who applied for passports so they could travel to Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, and other destinations. Now, all of those passports issued in 2007 are expiring! Added to the normal summer passport rush, the result is record numbers of passport applications. Unfortunately, many people who apply for their passports by mail are reporting delays in the issuance of their passports.
Top Tips to Beat the Summer Passport Rush
Use G3
Since you’re here at G3Passports.com, you’ve already found the best way to beat the summer travel passport rush! As registered passport expeditors, we can get your passport for you very quickly. We can even have your passport completed within 2-3 days! You’ll have the support of the G3 team every step of the way, to make sure there are no delays. Best of all, unlike applying through the Post Office, our processing times are reliable.
Apply Early
Don’t wait until the day before your trip to look for your passport. When you start planning your trip, check your passport right away. You’ll want to make sure you can answer yes to all of these questions:
- Do I know where my passport is stored?
- Does my passport have at least six months validity after the end of my trip?
- Is my passport in my current legal name?
- Does my passport have blank pages marked “visas” for my entry stamps?
- Is my passport in good condition, with no tears, damaged pages, or unauthorized markings?
If any of those questions are a “no,” G3 can help you quickly renew or replace your passport.
Find the Best Passport Acceptance Facility
If you need to get your first passport, get a passport for your child, or replace a lost or damaged passport, you will need to visit a Passport Acceptance Facility before you send your application to G3. During the current passport rush, you may find that some Passport Acceptance Facilities do not have any appointments available, or ones that do not require appointments may have long lines.
During this busy season for passports, it’s great if you can schedule an appointment with a Passport Acceptance Agent. With an appointment scheduled in advance, you know exactly when you’ll be seen, and you won’t have to waste time standing in line. We encourage you to call around to other Passport Acceptance Facilities if you can’t get a convenient appointment with the first one you check. Consider locations near your home, your office, or maybe even one further afield that is close to a shop or restaurant you like but don’t get to visit often.
Prefer to go to a “first come, first served” facility that doesn’t take appointments? You’d be wise to try to get there early in the morning, just in case there are lines. At some Passport Acceptance Facilities, they will even shut down the lines if they know they already have more people than they can serve before the end of the day!
We look forward to helping you get your passport in time for your summer travel!