{"id":26445,"date":"2021-11-16T09:00:12","date_gmt":"2021-11-16T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ourpublicservice.org\/?page_id=26445"},"modified":"2022-11-15T10:29:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T15:29:11","slug":"passport-services","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ourpublicservice.org\/our-solutions\/customer-experience\/y2021\/passport-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Passport Services"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n<\/i>Back to Customer Experience Profiles<\/span><\/a>\n\n\n\n
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Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Note: Unlike other profiles, which were compiled with agency participation, staff from the Bureau of Consular Affairs was unable to participate in research interviews or review the Passports profile this year. Data and insights are based on publicly available information on the agency\u2019s website and in news reports about passport services.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Executive Summary<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data Highlights<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Customer Experience Insights<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Delivering Services Equitably<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leading Customer Experience Practices<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Passports are vital documents that enable people to travel around the world, and the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the State Department issues millions of them every year. A total of 143.1 million valid U.S. passports were in circulation in fiscal year 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The coronavirus pandemic significantly impacted the bureau\u2019s ability to provide passport services in 2020 and 2021. Because of the printing equipment and other technology used to process and issue passports, bureau staff were unable to work from home, and at the beginning of the pandemic passport services were limited to only those who had to travel for emergencies. The bureau brought staff back into offices and resumed regular passport processing beginning in summer 2020. But by spring 2021, increased interest in travel, combined with lingering pandemic workplace restrictions at the bureau, resulted in a significant backlog of passport applications. As of July 2021, the bureau was estimating an average processing time of 18 weeks for regular passports, and 12 weeks for expedited service, up from 6 to 8 weeks in fiscal year 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Service Overview<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Primary\u202fcustomers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citizens applying for or holding U.S. passports.\u202f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key services provided to customers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Information on and assistance with applying for, renewing and canceling passports.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Processing of passport applications, renewals and cancellations, and issuance of passports.\n
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    • 11.7 million passports issued<\/strong> in fiscal year 2020. (20.7 million in fiscal year 2019).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Expedited passports for emergency travel. \u202f\u202f<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Service Snapshot<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      • 1.5 million passport applications<\/strong> received in fiscal year 2020.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • 143.1 million valid U.S. passports<\/strong> in circulation in fiscal year 2020.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

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        Data Highlights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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        average processing time in weeks for passports as of July 2021. (up from estimates of 6-8 weeks in fiscal year 2019)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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        passports issued in fiscal year 2020. (20.7 million in fiscal year 2019)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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        Customer Experience Insights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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        Improvement from last year<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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        Room for improvement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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        People are waiting longer to receive their passports.\u202f<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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        As of July 2021, the State Department was taking up to 18 weeks to process and mail routine passport applications, and up to 12 weeks to process and mail expedited applications as the agency worked to address a backlog of as many as two million applications.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

        At the beginning of the pandemic, the agency limited passport services to those who needed to travel for an emergency, as most of the staff responsible for processing passports was sent home for safety. Staff members are unable to telework because passport processing requires use of IT systems that can only be accessed within the State Department\u2019s facilities. In the fall of 2020, the agency prioritized bringing Passports staff back to the office safely, and passport processing times returned to pre-pandemic lengths by December 2020.2<\/sup><\/p>\n

        However, in early 2021, as vaccinations increased and more people began planning international travel, applications surged, and the agency once again struggled to keep pace.3<\/sup> The agency continues to bring more staff back into the office and is working to hire additional staff and contractors to increase passport processing capacity, but it will take time for these new staff to be trained. In the meantime, the State Department is cautioning travelers that they should plan to apply for or renew their passport at least 6 months ahead of any planned travel, as the backlog is expected to continue for some time.4<\/sup><\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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        Customers cannot apply for or renew a passport online.<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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        Customers cannot apply for or renew a passport online due to constraints with the department\u2019s information technology systems. The bureau\u2019s plans to enable customers to apply for or renew passports online have been delayed, with little progress made in recent years, according to the agency\u2019s Office of the Inspector General.5<\/sup><\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n\t

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        Customers value the knowledge and professionalism of passport services staff.<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t
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        Staff at both the contact centers and local passport offices receive extensive training to resolve customer issues, and the organization celebrates examples of excellent service through awards and newsletters. The bureau also ensures staff members across the organization have consistent information when interacting with customers, so that people get the same guidance no matter how they contact the bureau.<\/p>\n

        Passport services application process survey results6<\/sup> (fiscal year 2019, all scores out of 100 points)\u202f\u202f<\/strong><\/p>\n

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        • How professional was the staff where you applied for your passport? 90<\/strong><\/li>\n
        • How knowledgeable was the staff where you applied for your passport? 91<\/strong><\/li>\n
        • How do these numbers compare? 68.1 on scale of 0 to 100:<\/strong> the aggregated score across federal services measured in the American Customer Satisfaction Index in 2019.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n