Here we are in the third full week of Phase One of the State Department’s plan to get US passports processed. While there had been over 1.6 million passports waiting during the time they were suspended from processing, the agencies are working their way through them at a good clip now!
US Passport Update – How Many Were Processed in Week Three
There are currently 14 passport facilities open and processing. This does not mean you can go to apply for one at those facilities, expedited passports are still only for life-and-death situations.
But, it does mean they are getting the job done slowly but surely. However, keep in mind that Phase Two could take a little longer than originally thought since some states are seeing the virus numbers go up again.
| Week (Thursday-Wednesday) | Applications Received | Passports Awaiting Issuance | Passports Issued |
|---|---|---|---|
| This Week (June 25-July 1) | 133,000 | 1.59 million | 236,000 |
| Last Week (June 18-24) | 134,000 | 1.61 million | 187,000 |
| 2 Weeks Ago (June 11-17) | 120,000 | 1.72 million | 154,000 |
That is a strong increase from the previous week with 49,000 additional passports being processed in week three over week two. To go along with that, there were 1,000 fewer new applications received in week three than week two.
They have made a dent into the overall passport number awaiting issuance to get it under the 1.6 million number. Remember, they are a working on a first in, first out process so they should be almost done with the passports received in March.
With a net positive of 103,000 passports processed this past week, it would take about 15 weeks at that pace to get all the passports out. However, they have been increasing the number of issued passports each week and, hopefully, Phase Two will launch at some point. So, there is light at the end of the passport processing tunnel!
thank you for this news and updates, i have another question as i applied the passport in Los Angels on early March however the LA agency center is not yet opened till today 7/2. does this mean all passports applied in LA county were not processed at all?
Good question but, from what I had been told, all passports were being processed in the order they were received. Your passport would likely have been sent to a different processing facility or something similar. Does your passport status show up yet or no?
Can you explain the net positive part, and estimated 15 week waiting period?
Pardon my limitations with math, but if there were 1.6 million backlogged and they issue 236 000 a week…. Why wouldn’t it be a waiting time of 6.8 weeks ?
I could be messed up – let me explain my part and you let me know what you think! The net positive is the amount of passports they are processing vs the number of applications coming in. That is also why I said it could be an estimated 15 week waiting period at current output, taking into account the number of new passport applications coming in as well. So, the backlog would be cleared in the next few weeks but that would be the initial 1.6 million backlog. The rest that have come in since that point would be in the longer period.
I see, maybe I was being overly optimistic in thinking that the figure for passports awaiting issuance included the ones that were being submitted. I’m not sure if there is a way to find that out definitively…. But I am keeping my fingers crossed!
Any thoughts on when they might move to Phase two?? In need of a passport for work (offshore). Not a life and death emergency, but still urgent for our family.
Hi, Neo – I think they may have pushed Phase Two off a bit for any agencies in the states with rising cases. Hopefully, they will open them soon, though.
Do you have any idea when they open as phase 3?
Based on the rise of cases in various states, I would imagine it has been pushed off from whenever they had originally thought.
Are renewals and applications grouped together in these stats? I need to renew mine, but am afraid to mail it in and be without it for so long. Leaning toward waiting until two weeks before my trip and hopefully being able to walk into a processing center for expedited renewal.
Hi, Rob – I have heard it is the same. Unfortunate but they are moving along at a quicker rate.
Thanks for the info!
Are passport renewals in the same waiting line as new passport applications?
You are welcome! Yes, they are all in the same queue.
Thanks for the updates!! I submitted my passport for renewal the first week of March. My status online still shows in process. Any idea if they are sending out new passports without updating the status?
Hi Charlie I sent my passport on April 22th and they charged my account on May 10th my status is in process….do you have some guess if I may receive before August 5th?
My husband needs his passport for immigration to Canada, is there a way to expedite it? We sent the passport in at the end of March
Hi Charlie, thanks very much for this update.
Do you know what the process is when they do eventually send you your passport? Meaning, will we receive an email or at least a notification from USPS with a tracking number?
Hey Charlie! Thank you so much for these updates. Do you know what’s happening now? I noticed you didn’t update last week
Hi, Patrick! Yeah, I didn’t get that out last week but it is scheduled for today! Good news as they have passed 1 million processed passports!
hello where can i find current information as to how many passports are being processed each week . Thank you