Your Travel Bug

09/18/2024

After a number of pilot programs over the past few years, the U.S. has fully launched its online passport renewal program.

All adult Americans are now able to renew their passports online, via the State Department’s portal, at any time of the day as long as their passport has expired within the last five years or will expire in this coming year. The U.S. had the portal opened in the summer for a limited number of applicants each day to test the system, which now goes fully live.

“Today, more Americans than ever are traveling abroad, and we’ve seen a huge increase in demand for passports over the last few years,” Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Rena Bitter said in a news conference on Wednesday.

“Our goal is and has always been to provide Americans a secure and efficient passport service, so we are really excited that we are now making available online passport renewal.”

The service allows Americans to pay, upload a photo, and apply completely online with no need to appear in person or send anything through the mail. It’s a welcome relief for a growing number of Americans wanting to travel aboard (the State Department says 5 million Americans a year will be able to use the service).

Costs
There is no difference in cost between the online renewal option and the traditional renewal option—both will cost $130 for a passport book, $30 for a passport card, and $160 for the two, if you are an adult (aged 16 and older).

Wait times for renewal
Wait times for renewal via the online portal, according to Secretary Bitter, is six to eight weeks, the same as the traditional renewal process. Bitter added that while processing times are “really historically low,” the benefit of online passport renewal isn’t time, it’s convenience.

“The benefit of online passport renewal is that it’s a more convenient service. We don’t expect to have a different service standard for people who apply online versus people who apply by mail.”

Just like the pilot, there is currently no way to expedite renewal online, but that could change in the future.

First-time Passport applications

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09/06/2024

So, we are planning to go back to Africa in August 2023. We will be headed to the breath taking Victoria falls, Zimbabwe, and south Africa.
We have 8 spots open for this adventure where we will combine Victoria Falls with Cultural, Safari, history, and beautiful sightseeing as we make our way through these amazing regions.

08/31/2024