If you’re planning a vacation outside of the U.S. this year and are needing to either get a passport or renew one beforehand, it might be wise to start that process very soon.
As The Huffington Post reports, the U.S. State Department has issued warnings about a big increase in passport renewals and applications through 2018.
The main reason is because 10-year passports issued in 2006 and 2007 either expired in 2016 or are expiring this year and a new law will require more robust forms of ID for some travelers in 2018.
Also, back In 2007, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative required Americans flying home from Mexico, Canada and a host of other locations to carry passports, which caused a marked spike in passport applications that year and in 2016, all those passports began to expire.
Combined those two factors with the rule that some countries require your passport to be valid for at least six months past your travel date, and you’ve got a perfect storm for processing delays.
Some countries require travelers to carry passports that are valid for at least six months past their travel date.
