The US Department of State has announced that Americans will soon be able to renew their passports online after successful pilot programs this year.
According to The New York Times, the pilot program launched in February for federal government employees and contractors. A second pilot program launched in August for 25,00 members of the public. A third pilot program just ended this month.
In December 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order giving the State Department permission to create a safe way to renew passports online.
The Executive Order was signed into law, online renewals are expected to cut the time of passport renewals by 1-7 weeks, cutting the average renewal process time from 8-11 weeks by mail to 5-7 weeks online.
Much like delays seen in Ireland due to backlogs due to the pandemic, some of these process times have been even longer. The NYT reports that some passport renewals have taken 18 weeks to process. Expedited service is also seeing delays.
Travellers should be aware that many countries currently mandate travellers have passports that expire at least six months from the return date of their trip; travellers should always check their passports well before booking their travel.
