WASHINGTON, D.C. —Back in February, Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Alabama, issued a reminder to make sure your passport is still valid before booking international travel. Also, he said, applying for a new passport or a passport renewal is currently taking two months or longer.
On Thursday, May 25, Aderholt’s communications director Carson Clark issued the following statement:
Good afternoon everyone. I know that I have sent multiple emails on this topic in the past few months, but I really can’t overstate the importance and the impact we are seeing from the current passport backlog. Our office is currently handling dozens of emergency passport situations. We are able to help some people by getting them appointments in Atlanta or New Orleans to drive and get a passport. However, we have had some people who have had to cancel/postpone trips. So, I’m hoping you can help spread the word again with the bullet points below.
- If you have a trip between now and Labor Day and you don’t have a valid passport, you need to immediately apply and pay for expedited service.
- Best practice is DO NOT book a trip out of the country if you do not have a passport already in hand.
- Do not book a trip thinking, “I can handle the passport issue later.”
- The U.S. State Department advises us that if you think you might go on an international trip within the next year, go ahead and apply for/or renew your passport now.
- Adult passports are valid for 10 years. Passports for minors are valid for 5 years. So, make sure you or your child’s passport has not expired.
- Your member of Congress can attempt to help you in an emergency situation, but we cannot make any guarantees. Congressman Aderholt’s considers an emergency to be for travel within the next two weeks.
Back in February, Aderholt said:
“As we head toward the spring and summer travel season, many people are booking trips that take them out of the country. My office is already receiving many calls from people who have booked these types of trips and don’t realize until the last minute that they either don’t have a passport or their passport has expired. In passport emergencies, my office will be glad to assist in these situations.
“As a reminder, any travel by U.S. citizens that will take place outside of the borders of the United States requires a valid passport, even to Mexico or Canada. Also, many countries require a passport to have at least six months of validity left on it past the dates of travel.”
For more information, go to www.usa.gov/passport.
