Even expedited services were slowed considerably during the pandemic. The processing times for both standard and expedited passports began to shorten by the end of 2021. According to an update from October 29 that excludes postal delivery periods, Expedite passport processing time for applications submitted directly to the U.S. State Department ranged from 5 to 7 weeks.



The State Department is no longer utilizing door-to-door timelines to define accelerated service. Not the day you mail your application in or apply for a passport at a nearby acceptance facility, "our processing timeframes begin the day we receive your application at a passport agency or center." The 12-to-18-week projection the government had made for expedited passport service early in the pandemic has been reduced to 5-to-7 weeks. For a quicker turnaround, our best expedited passport service has a limited number of seats for that quick service and can take six to seven working days for confirmed travel within two weeks. At the time of publication, the typical turnaround time for an expedited passport was 4 weeks.

It's very uncommon for travelers to need to accelerate their U.S. passport applications due to last-minute travel arrangements or a significant foreign trip that will arrive before they realize it. The price of rush services always increases, but they are occasionally necessary. The procedure is very similar to the standard application process, which can take a few weeks to several months for both renew and obtain a new passport swiftly. There are also more scenarios when you might urgently need a new or reissued passport. If your passport's validity is less than six months, several countries won't let you enter. Others demand at least two pages that are completely blank. It is advised to visit the State Department website or get in touch with your airline or travel agency before you go to learn about each country's passport and visa requirements.