New Yorkers Wait up to 18 Weeks for Passports to Arrive, after Pandemic

     New Yorkers who have the travel bug are being confronted with frustrating and lengthy delays in the processing of their passports because a backlog of 1.5 to 2 million passports applications from across the United States has yet to be processed. 

      While in September 2020, the wait time for passports was approximately 10 weeks, now, Americans who apply for passports are waiting up to 18 weeks for their international identification to arrive, said officials from the US State Department.

     Americans who wish to travel should apply for or renew their passports at least six months in advance, advised State Department officials, who expected the passport processing delays to continue indefinitely.

     Some New York elected officials, such as Sen. Chuck Schumer, have been prodding the State Department to hire larger staff and do what it can to speed up the delays that are devastating many families.

     Unsurprisingly, some New Yorkers have taken matters into their own hands by hiring private passport courier companies, which charge $100 to process passports, which is not much more than the additional $60 many pays to get their passport processing expedited and processed within three weeks. 

     Other New York officials, who have called on the State Department to disallow private passport companies, have been critical of the practice of private companies to consume large blocks of urgent State Department appointments for resale to the public.

     “It is completely unacceptable that the integrity of the first-come, first-serve appointment process is being undermined by the predatory business practices of third-party passport courier services,” US Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY) said in a statement.