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1 1 (August 2, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govemjf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing the IegisIative debate since 1914 August 2, 2023 State Department Passport Services: Background and Issues for Congress Background The U.S. Department of State (State Department, the Department) defines a passport as an internationally recognized travel document that verifies the identity and nationality of the bearer. Congress has vested authority in the State Department to grant, issue, and verify U.S. passports. State Department data indicate that the number of passports it issues on an annual basis has increased substantially since the mid-1990s. The Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) issued over 5.5 million passports in FY1996, and this figure more than doubled by FY2006, reaching over 12 million. In FY2022, CA issued a record 21.9 million passports and expects to exceed this total in FY2023 (see Figure 1). Figure I. U.S. Passports Issued, FY20 19-FY2023 FY2019 20,690,491 Fv220 FY2021 a,20 FY2022 21,995760 FY202 25,000,000 Source: State Department, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Reports and Statistics, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports- and-statistics.html. Notes: The FY2023 figure is an estimate provided by Assistant Secretary of State Rena Bitter; U.S. Congress, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Examining the Fiscal Year 24 Bureau of Consular Affairs Budget, hearing, 118th Cong. I st sess., June 7, 2023. Passport Application Adjudication and Processing Steps Current State Department regulations require first-time applicants for a U.S. passport, along with most applicants under age 18, to submit their application in person at a passport acceptance facility. There are over 7,400 passport acceptance facilities across the United States. These sites include post offices, clerks of court, public libraries, and other local government offices. In many cases, those seeking to renew their passport are eligible to do so by mail. Department of the Treasury-administered payment processing centers (often referred to as lockbox facilities or lockboxes) are responsible for opening and sorting passport application packages, processing passport application fees, entering relevant application data into State Department servers, and transmitting application packages to passport agencies and centers for adjudication. CA currently administers 29 passport agencies and centers across the United States. In addition to adjudicating applications received from payment processing centers, many passport agencies and centers offer in-person passport services by appointment to those with urgent international travel needs. Once a passport application is approved, information is electronically transmitted to a book print facility where the passport is printed. CA maintains two such facilities, located in Hot Springs, AR, and Tucson, AZ. After printing, the passport is mailed to the applicant. While the aforementioned procedures generally apply to U.S. citizens in the United States, U.S. embassies and other overseas posts offer passport services to U.S. citizens abroad. Specific procedures vary by post. In most cases, U.S. citizens must apply for all passport services in person at the relevant embassy or consulate. Similar to passport agencies and centers in the United States, overseas posts offer appointments to U.S. citizens who require a passport for immediate international travel. The 2023 Passport Surge CA's published processing times for routine passport applications increased from 6-9 weeks in January 2023 to 10-13 weeks by March, and have not since decreased. Processing times for expedited passport applications also increased during this period, from 3-5 weeks to 7-9 weeks. In July 2023, the State Department said it was working to return processing times to pre-pandemic levels, which were (as of December 2019) 6-8 weeks for routine applications and 2-3 weeks for expedited applications, by the end of the calendar year. Several Members of Congress have raised concerns about longer processing times. In May 2023, approximately 200 Members transmitted a letter to Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Rena Bitter stating that processing delays were affecting constituent travel plans and causing an influx of passport- related constituent inquiries to congressional offices that had grown to comprise a disproportionate percentage of constituent services caseloads. Additionally, the letter called on CA to improve its communications with congressional offices and constituents regarding passport processing challenges and accurate processing timelines. In March 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while testifying before Congress, attributed increased processing times to unprecedented demand, stating that the State Department was receiving 30%-40% more passport applications weekly than it did in 2022. When Congress convened hearings in June 2023 regarding the Department's consular services, Assistant Secretary Bitter noted several factors she attributed to longer processing times, including * attrition within CA's passport adjudication workforce following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and continued in-person work requirements;

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