State Department announced new requirements for American citizens flying into the States from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, most travel-savvy people figured on a few delays and foul-ups. Instead, an outright disaster ensued!

by Dan Johnson

TV, newspapers, you name it, were filled with stories of families stranded at home after paying for cruises, or people stuck in all-day lines at official passport agencies in major cities. And online message boards overflowed with complaints, even as Assistant Secretary of State Maura Harty publicly apologized for the whole mess.

Take the case of Allyson Johnson, who made plans in February to fly to Barcelona on business. That’s when she learned that her passport, which was still good through October, had to be renewed: Spain is one of a number of countries that will NOT accept passports that are due to expire in six-months. Johnson sent off her passport for expedited renewal in mid-February. No problem, huh?

Well, three, four, five weeks went by with no returned document! “This was a trip I could not miss,” Johnson said. “Finally, a little over 6-weeks from the time I was supposed to get my renewed passport, I finally got it! And I feel lucky to have gotten in just ahead of the tidal wave.”

Johnson was lucky. Many people have been forced to cancel vacations because their passports were stuck in limbo. Of course, all this started happening 3-months ago, but you don’t hear much about it anymore (maybe because the national media has moved on to Lindsay Lohan’s latest lunacy); still, the passport fiasco continues unabated. A Google search for “passport mess” comes up with over a million results from the past few months, along with the news that the State Department is re-hiring former employees and recruiting diplomats to help with the backlog. Clearly, the situation is not improving.

How Did We Get Here?

The idea behind the new regulations was to help stem terrorism by requiring people to have passports for trips to and from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. This rule sparked a flood of passport applications, overwhelming the system and delaying response time at the beginning of the summer travel season.

How Are They Fixing It?

The State Department has hired hundreds of additional employees, opened informational phone lines (1-877-4USA-PPT), and issued a rare public mea culpa: “”Over the past several months, many travelers who applied for a passport did not receive their document in time for their planned travel. I deeply regret that,” said Assistant Secretary of State Maura Harty, who is in charge of passports for U.S. citizens. “I accept complete responsibility for this.”

All of this helps, but has not solved the fundamental problem - too many passport applications and not enough people to process them. The system remains slow; if you are looking to travel abroad over the next six months, read on.

Going Abroad? Some Tips

• If you do not have a passport, apply as soon as possible.
• Check the expiration date on your passport. If it is within six months of trip, renew your passport ASAP.
• Using the “expedited” option on your passport application ($60 extra) will not get it to you within two to three weeks, but it will move things faster.
• Expect to wait 6-10 weeks for expedited service, and from three to five months for regular service.
• If you are traveling within the next few weeks, go directly to one of the Regional Passport Agencies, located in many major cities. Make an appointment ahead of time, but be prepared to wait in a long line.
• If you are leaving within the next two weeks, use a private passport expediter. For more information and expediters near you, check the National Association of Passport and Visa Services.
• If you are leaving town within the next week, see if your airline will give you a partial refund on your plane tickets. This is a long shot - most of them won’t, but the worst they can do is say “no.”

Keep watching this site for more updates - FareCompare is following this story closely, and as regulations change we will post them here.