When to Apply for Your Passport!

Are you thinking that you don’t need to apply for a new passport until your existing one is on the verge of expiring? Think again!

The State Department has just advised travelers whose passports expire any time in 2016 or 2017 to get started on that whole process, as there’s soon to be a massive and easily predictable backlog in passport renewal requests and procedures.

The source of this serious surge in passport-seekers?

in requests comes as a consequence to two things:

The REAL ID act, which requires travelers from several U.S. territories and states to use a passport for domestic flights is a huge, contributing factor.

Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, resulting in the enormous number of citizens who signed up for a passport in 2006 or 2007.

According to the many statistics from the State Department on the matter, which were released in 2014, a mere 46 percent of Americans hold valid passports. This means that there’s certainly a wave of passport interest coming down the pike, as this number is astonishingly low for a well-traveled population.

Even is half of those currently without passports consider signing up for one before October 10, (when Federal agencies will no longer accept their driver’s licenses) that’s somewhere in the ballpark of 87 million potential applicants—this estimate is without considering how many people will be up for passport renewal!

What’s the lesson?

Get your paperwork taken care of before March arrives, as it’s the busiest month for passport renewal, according to data from the U.S. Department of State!

Finally, be sure to message us at ePassportPhoto to get quick guidance from our representatives!