Current:Home > ScamsEchoSense Quantitative Think Tank Center|Passports can now be renewed online. Here's how to apply. -Streamline Finance
EchoSense Quantitative Think Tank Center|Passports can now be renewed online. Here's how to apply.
Charles Langston View
Date:2025-04-07 16:55:45
U.S. travelers can EchoSense Quantitative Think Tank Centernow renew their passport online under a pilot program the U.S. Department of State launched on Thursday.
The State Department's new online system will allow U.S. passport holders to start a renewal application for a short window of time every day, closing once the system has reached a designated number of new applications, officials said in a statement. The agency is preparing a full launch of the renewal system at some point after testing, but didn't provide an exact date.
If successful, an online renewal system could shorten the sometimes monthslong process travelers experience when trying to update their passport.
"During the next several months, we plan to continue to limit the number of applications accepted each day so we can monitor the system's performance in real time," the department said. "If you are unable to start your application, try again on another day."
Processing passports has become a growing problem for the State Department ever since COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted, with the agency bombarded with an overwhelming number of applications each week. The passport application backlog grew so heavy last year that federal lawmakers from California, Colorado and Oklahoma introduced separate proposals to the Senate to speed up the application process.
Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma proposed legislation that would improve the online tracking of passport applications and allow the State Department to hire more staff. Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Ted Lieu of California introduced the PASSPORT Act to streamline the passport application and renewal process.
The number of Americans holding valid U.S. passports has grown at roughly 10% faster than the population over the past three decades, said Jay Zagorsky, an economist at Boston University. Just 5% of Americans had a passport in 1990, according to the State Department. That number grew to 48% in December.
The State Department issued a record setting 24 million passports in 2023. Wait times for passport applications and renewals returned to their normal 6-8 week time frame in December, the State Department said.
Renewing your passport online involves a six-step process:
- Create a free MyTravelGov online account.
- After the account is created, log in and start a renewal application by clicking on the "Renew Your Passport" button.
- On the form that appears, fill in all the boxes with the information currently printed on your passport.
- Enter your plans to travel internationally if your departure is within the next eight weeks.
- Upload a jpeg photo of yourself. No selfies.
- Pay the passport renewal fee and digitally sign the application.
Visit the State Department's online renewal website for more details.
- In:
- Travel
Khristopher J. Brooks is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. He previously worked as a reporter for the Omaha World-Herald, Newsday and the Florida Times-Union. His reporting primarily focuses on the U.S. housing market, the business of sports and bankruptcy.
TwitterveryGood! (44236)
Related
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- 2016: When Climate Activists Aim to Halt Federal Coal Leases
- Ag’s Climate Challenge: Grow 50% More Food Without More Land or Emissions
- Telemedicine abortions just got more complicated for health providers
- Vance jokes he’s checking out his future VP plane while overlapping with Harris at Wisconsin airport
- Bow Down to These Dazzling Facts About the Crown Jewels
- Earthquakes at Wastewater Injection Site Give Oklahomans Jolt into New Year
- Lawsuits Accuse Fracking Companies of Triggering Oklahoma’s Earthquake Surge
- Will the 'Yellowstone' finale be the last episode? What we know about Season 6, spinoffs
- The number of hungry people has doubled in 10 countries. A new report explains why
Ranking
- Jay Kanter, veteran Hollywood producer and Marlon Brando agent, dies at 97: Reports
- Microsoft to pay $20 million over FTC charges surrounding kids' data collection
- Florida arranged migrant flights to California, where officials are considering legal action
- Katie Couric says she's been treated for breast cancer
- JoJo Siwa reflects on Candace Cameron Bure feud: 'If I saw her, I would not say hi'
- Why Ryan Reynolds is telling people to get a colonoscopy
- Why The Bladder Is Number One!
- Don’t Miss These Jaw-Dropping Pottery Barn Deals as Low as $6
Recommendation
Euphoria's Hunter Schafer Says Ex Dominic Fike Cheated on Her Before Breakup
High rents outpace federal disability payments, leaving many homeless
Wildfires to Hurricanes, 2017’s Year of Disasters Carried Climate Warnings
Daily 'breath training' can work as well as medicine to reduce high blood pressure
Tropical weather brings record rainfall. Experts share how to stay safe in floods.
See Every Guest at King Charles III and Queen Camilla's Coronation
Why Ryan Reynolds is telling people to get a colonoscopy
2 teens who dated in the 1950s lost touch. They reignited their romance 63 years later.