U.S. Department of State

Office of the Spokesman

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For Immediate Release                                                                     

                                                                        April 2, 2007

2007/254

Media Note

State Department Answers Nation’s Call for Passports

 

The Department of State has committed additional resources and personnel to meet Americans’ unprecedented demand for passports.  Passport production has hit record highs as the Department works diligently to honor its mission and ensure that every citizen gets a passport in time for planned travel.  

 

·         Record Production of Passports:  In the week ending March 29, the Department issued a record 412,000 passports.  The weekly tally surpasses the record set the previous week, when the Department issued 379,000 passports.

 

·         Regional Agencies Working through the Weekend:  Employees at the 17 Passport Agencies nationwide continue to work overtime daily and throughout the weekend to process applications to meet Americans' spring travel plans.

 

·         Expanded Call Center for Information and Appointments:  The National Passport Information Center (1-877-487-2778) remains open for limited weekend hours to make emergency arrangements for travelers departing in seven days or less.  NPIC has expanded its business hours and is now staffed Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until midnight, Eastern Time.

 

·         Volunteers on the Phones:  On top of their regular duties, State Department employees are volunteering on task forces to answer questions and help Americans get their passports.  The Department has installed high-capacity telephone lines to increase the volume of telephone calls it can receive.

 

·         Volunteers at the Desks:  Qualified State Department employees are also volunteering to help process passport applications.  These volunteers, who approved 10,000 applications last week, supplement the Department's corps of passport specialists, which has increased by 250 new hires since 2005.

 

·         Establishing the Newest Passport Center:  Test runs at the new Arkansas Passport Center in Hot Springs indicate that this center will begin operations in April, as planned.  At full capacity, this Center will produce as many as 10 million passports a year. 

 

Important Points for Travelers

 

Travelers can check the status of their pending passport applications online at http://travel.state.gov.  Information is normally available online approximately four weeks after the application is submitted. 

 

Those who have applied and are leaving within two weeks can visit http://travel.state.gov/passport/about/npic/npic_895.html to send an email inquiry to check the status or call the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778.  We ask that other travelers leave the phone lines open for those with immediate travel needs.

 

Travelers who have not applied for passports to date should plan ten weeks for standard passport processing and two weeks for expedited processing.  Information on how to apply for a passport, including how to expedite processing, is available at http://travel.state.gov.  Applicants requesting expedited service must write "EXPEDITE" on the outside of the envelope containing their application.

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