Passport Woes: Tens-of-Thousands of applications creating backlogs for travelers

WASHINGTON — Carlo Bismarck Aalst, from Alexandria, has been trying to renew his passport for six long months. 

He first submitted his application in January, which he figured would be more than enough time to prepare for a March trip to Italy for a friend's surprise birthday party. But the passport never arrived. 

"He was turning 50," he said. "Everybody else was there except me." 

Aalst continued waiting. Winter turned to Spring. The Cherry Blossoms came and went. Memorial Day flew by. By early July, Aalst was still waiting, some six months after he made his initial request. 

"I'm pretty frustrated, to say the least," he said early Friday morning. 

Aalst is of course far from alone. A state Department spokesperson said they are currently receiving about 400,000 applications each week. This follows 'higher-than-normal' volumes through May, 2023, in which they exceeded 500,000 applications per week. 

"The Department is experiencing a surge in passport demand," the spokesperson said. "And during some weeks we are seeing twice as many applications pending compared to the same point in FY 2022."

The spokesperson estimated that current processing times are 10-13 weeks for routine processing and 7-9 weeks for expedited processing. The department recommends applying for a new passport six months in advance of planned travel. 

"We are working hard to get back to our pre-pandemic processing times by the end of calendar year 2023," the spokesperson said. 

Aalst's request has now turned more urgent. His mother is sick in Ecuador, and the entire family is making their way down to visit her. Aalst purchased a ticket for Sunday but needed to get that passport first. 

"Now we're talking about my mother," he said. "Her health is not so good right now. So I need to be down there. This is an actual emergency." 

Aalst, who just graduated from Harvard University, was hoping to bring his diploma to his mother, because 'it's more hers' than his. 

On Friday, WUSA9 spoke with him before he entered the Passport office for an expedited meeting since his trip was so soon. At 3 p.m., he made his exit from the building and was all smiles. 

"Super happy," he said. "I can finally travel." 

Six months after making his request, he was able to get his passport on Friday afternoon. 

Sen. Mark Warner, the senior Senator from Virginia, said that his office has been inundated with calls, relating to passport applications. He said some 1,500 requests have come in already this year. 

"Fifty percent of the people who are calling with concerns," he said. "It's about passports." 

Warner said that the backlog is all about staffing and a high volume of requests. 

"The folks who are working there are working their tails off," he said. "They're working nights. They're working weekends. We need more people."

The state department spokesperson said that they are working to boost staffing levels, and have so far authorized approximately 30,000 to 40,000 overtime hours each month.