A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how there were over 1.6 million US passports waiting to be processed and new ones coming in at the rate of 9,000 per day. Fortunately, 14 passport facilities opened and are working on that backlog. So, here is where we currently are at with passport processing!
How Many US Passports Have Been Processed?
This is direct from the US State Department as to what numbers currently look like:
| Week (Thursday-Wednesday) | Applications Received | Passports Awaiting Issuance* | Passports Issued |
|---|---|---|---|
| This Week (June 11-17) | 120,000 | 1.72 million | 154,000 |
| Last Week (June 4-10) | 92,000 | 1.76 million | 38,000 |
This means that this past week, they were able to process 34,000 more applications that they received. This is the first time they have been at a net positive in this since the US stopped processing normal passport operations.
At that rate, it would mean that (if all stayed equal) it would take 50 weeks to catch up on the backlog. However, that is not what will happen as we still have more phases to go through and the passport facilities are ramping up quickly, issuing 116,000 more passports last week than they had the previous week.
Also, the number of applications received shows that many people felt it was time to get their applications in after waiting so long. That 120,000 is almost double what the previous averages had been per week!
But, here is an interesting tidbit – “*The number of passports currently awaiting issuance is only a slight increase compared to what we have awaiting issuance in normal circumstances during June.”
This seems to indicate that, once the other phases are reached, we should be back to normal waiting time in very short order. This is definitely good news to the almost 2 million people waiting for their passports!
How to Check Your Passport Status
So, you are feeling good about the passports being issued again and want to know when to expect yours – what do you do? Fortunately, you can check your passport status at the US State Department website but it may not show any processing just yet. That does not mean they did not receive it but just that they have not gotten to yours yet.
One way to know they have received it is if your form of payment has been cashed/charged. That is being done right away because it does not have to have people in processing centers to be handled.
If you do check it and it has not started being processed yet, it will say “Not Found”. Again, if your payment has been processed, you know they have your application.
So, do not lose heart if you are showing as Not Found. It will be processed in the order it is received so it is likely that the passports received in mid to late March are processed or about to be processed.
Bottom Line
US passports are being processed and they are finally catching up a bit on their backlog. You can still not apply for an expedited passport unless you have a life-or-death emergency. You can submit a passport application at the Post Office or similar acceptance facilities or send them in for passport renewal. But, consider that you will wind up at the bottom of the heap so maybe wait to see what the stats are for next week?
I didn’t know that there was a status indicator. My wife’s passport expires in just over a year so I want to take advantage of the lapse in travel to renew. Thanks.
Great!
Any updates on current backlog and processing times? Whenever I call they won’t share any information… I submitted in May.