I just complained to my congressmen . . .

[dms_cruisers04]

[quote name='nrdsb4']Sorry, I think you are wrong about that.

From an AP article I read just today:

"Last year, the agency processed [B][I]12.1 million passports[/I][/B]. This year, officials expect to process about [B][I][U]18 million[/U][/I][/B], she said. The department received [B][I]1 million[/I][/B] applications in December, [B][I]1.8 million[/I][/B] January and [B][I]1.7 million in February. " [/I][/B]

dms cruisers, if you add to this number those applying in March, April, and May, you do in fact come up with millions of people applying for passports in the last six months.

As to whether or not the government has hired new people to help with the backlog:

"Harty said the department had hired 145 people last month to work on the backlog and [B][I]would hire 400 more this quarter[/I][/B]. Target turnaround times for passports were bumped up from six to 10-12 weeks after the surge, but 500,000 applications have already taken longer, she said."

I'm with Mr. Dood. As relates to hiring MORE government employees, be careful what you wish for.[/quote]
No, that emphasizes my point exactly. Tens of millions (I guess that makes my point clearer) of people did not just start applying for their passports all of the sudden. There has been an ongoing influx of applications. If the State Dept already expected to process more applications than it had last year, we can't keep telling everybody that it's their fault because they waited too long.
For some that is completely true, but we can't keep lumping everyone together.

[98Charlie]

[quote name='woohoo4ue']My biggest problem with this is the timeline. Why tell us 10-12 weeks when it is going to be much longer than that. They should be held to their word. I had no need for a passport until this year. I applied in March for a October cruise, so if I don't have it by then I have every right to be ticked off.[/QUOTE]


And it's your style of thinking that has helped build the backlog for new passports.

You didn't feel you ``needed'' a passport until this year and didn't apply until March.

Sorry, but I have listened to passport need information on radio & TV for 2-3 years which has advised those without a passport to apply asap.

So sorry to hear you chose not to listen to advice given months and a couple of years ago.

Personally, checking in to a flight at the airport or checking in to a cruise ship is so much easier with a passport that I can't believe those traveling with a BC and DL haven't applied so far.

Sorry about your luck, but think you should have listened to those who warned you about applying early for your passport. March, 2007, seems more than a bit late to me.

Dianne

[llachance]

She is one of the ones that had to go to the Post Office to renew hers because she crossed into the magic age of majority and her last passport (her third) was before her 16th birthday (read the rules know renewing by mail). Her trip is not until the end of July, so in February we made a decision not to have it expedited. Well, now the whole world is having them expedited and guess where that leaves the rest? At the bottom of the pile. The web site has shown hes as being in process since the first week of March. She has written her congressman, she and her dad have spent any number of hours on hold and we still can't find out where its at.

So I sent an email last night (they say they will respond within 2 business days - we'll see). I moved her trip date up to two weeks from now (BTW - she still needs to get a VISA for where she is going) and asked for them to figure out where it is at! Only reason she really needed to renew now was to have 6 months after her trip for visa purposes - not because it was going to expire today!

I suspect if they had only let me expedite them that had legitimate travel plans within 90 days there may be a different lag time. And the web site still says 12 weeks so it obviously isn't up to date. And, just because they changed the rules doesn't mean there are millions of requests in the pile. They aren't going to take the time to pull the ones that aren't needed right this instant out of the pile and process the ones that really are!

[hdawson]

Let's be real. Is there anyone that doesn't watch TV news, read a paper occaisionally or talk to friends that do or their TA? Begining almost immediately (after the shock and sadness) after 9-11-01, there was a constant speculation of future protections and with an emphasis on passports being needed in the future. It has evolved over the past almost 6 years. Could anyone honestly doubt that this would happen? I'm a great procrastinator. I pack a couple of hours before I leave for a cruise. But I applied for my passport three months after the tragedy and received it in a bit less than three weeks. The backlog is because others didn't apply earlier before there was a backlog. Not the government's fault.

[woohoo4ue]

[quote name='98Charlie']And it's your style of thinking that has helped build the backlog for new passports.

You didn't feel you ``needed'' a passport until this year and didn't apply until March.

Sorry, but I have listened to passport need information on radio & TV for 2-3 years which has advised those without a passport to apply asap.

So sorry to hear you chose not to listen to advice given months and a couple of years ago.

Personally, checking in to a flight at the airport or checking in to a cruise ship is so much easier with a passport that I can't believe those traveling with a BC and DL haven't applied so far.

Sorry about your luck, but think you should have listened to those who warned you about applying early for your passport. March, 2007, seems more than a bit late to me.

Dianne[/quote]

Believe it or not I didn't know I would need a passport until late last year when I booked my cruise. Since then they have removed the need for a passport to cruise. Since I have no plans of doing any kind of vacationing outside the US besides cruising for the next 5 years technically I still don't NEED a passport RIGHT NOW. I think I did the responsible thing by applying for my passport 7 months in advance. Although I don't need it for my next cruise I'll still be hacked if I don't get it after applying 7 months in advance and being told 10-12 weeks. You're out of line.

[oscar's mom]

My DH and myself applied for our passports last December. I was more afraid of a price increase when they were required, so even though we didn't need them yet we went ahead and applied. Got them back in eight weeks and now I'm glad we did go ahead:)

[runner15km]

To the OP,

Get a life! We have over 200k men and women on the front lines who would gladly switch with you.

[Margarita1time]

Not everyone plans on traveling outside the country. Sometimes they find out that they will get an opportunity they never would have dreamed would happen. Those people aren't procrastinating, or irresponsible. My parents are in their 70's and have never traveled outside the US and have never had a passport. I am the only one of their children who has traveled outside the US. I would not call them irresponsible or procrastinators. They just never even thought about a passport. Now they have an opportunity to travel, and have applied for their passports. I expect they won't be leaving the good old US for many, many months. I've already told you about the young man and his wife who are supposed to leave next week for Tahiti, and they've been waiting 5 months for their passports. Yes, our government should have some responsibility for the passport fiasco. BTW- what does the fact that we have over 200k men and women on the front lines have to do with it? We all know that's a MUCH bigger concern than anyone's vacation plans. Duh!

[GoinCruisin]

[quote name='Margarita1time']Not everyone plans on traveling outside the country. Sometimes they find out that they will get an opportunity they never would have dreamed would happen. Those people aren't procrastinating, or irresponsible. My parents are in their 70's and have never traveled outside the US and have never had a passport. I am the only one of their children who has traveled outside the US. I would not call them irresponsible or procrastinators. They just never even thought about a passport. Now they have an opportunity to travel, and have applied for their passports. I expect they won't be leaving the good old US for many, many months. I've already told you about the young man and his wife who are supposed to leave next week for Tahiti, and they've been waiting 5 months for their passports. Yes, our government should have some responsibility for the passport fiasco. BTW- what does the fact that we have over 200k men and women on the front lines have to do with it? We all know that's a MUCH bigger concern than anyone's vacation plans. Duh![/quote]

I think everyone remembers the story about your son and their trip to Tahiti... and I think that is the exception, and could have something to do with his military records, who knows...

Sure, our government should have some responsibility... problem is, most are putting all the blame there, and taking none themselves... especially the ones that gave themselves 14 weeks, with a 12 week turnaround :rolleyes: Again, there are exceptions... and I'm sorry that your son has waited so long... I would definitely be on the phone with your state senator... I did that years ago after an unexpected trip came up and I had my passport within days. Not sure if it will help or not, but I would be calling...

[Mikel1733]

[quote name='dms_cruisers04']No, that emphasizes my point exactly. Tens of millions (I guess that makes my point clearer) of people did not just start applying for their passports all of the sudden. There has been an ongoing influx of applications. If the State Dept already expected to process more applications than it had last year, we can't keep telling everybody that it's their fault because they waited too long.
For some that is completely true, but we can't keep lumping everyone together.[/quote]

Maybe everyone who needs a passport and can't get it can ask for "amnesty". Governments pretty flexible in that regard.

[river_sand_bar2]

Hey, its BIG BROTHER keeping control of all of you... :D

[Mikel1733]

[quote name='river_sand_bar2']Hey, its BIG BROTHER keeping control of all of you... :D[/quote]

So next year if they start the new RFID passports will everyone have to get a new one? Right now plans don't even call for encryption on the passports which means in any foreign travels your personal information can be read up to 30 feet away by others.

[coachbraz]

I applied on a Tuesday and had It Wednesday payed $157 dollars and just had to show I was traveling(airline ticket and Itierary) in the next 14 days. I did my research and had everything they needed and It was no Problem.


Keep smiling :)

Coach Braz

[xina85]

[quote name='cruisecastle']Don't blame them blame yourself. If you are in a hurry pay $100 to expedite and you'll have it in two weeks.[/quote]

Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. I was told I would receive it within two weeks when I expedited my passport on May 17th I believe... well, it is pushing a month and still no passport :( Granted, I should have applied earlier, but when you pay for something, you still expect to receive what they tell you you'll get.

Thank goodness they'll be refunding the extra money- [URL]http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2007-06-12-passport-refunds_N.htm?csp=34[/URL]

[tkportersat]

No the govt. said you need them, oh no you don't, oh yes you do, on no wait not just yet, ok now you do, well ok now we really mean it, oh no wait lets not, OK we are finally serious and you do.....that is why so many more people put it off than didn't. If they would have just said you need it by______then it would have been done and over with. THEY are the ones that cried wolf too many times. Thankfully I got tired of worrying about it myself and what they would and wouldn't do, so I applied in January for my June cruise - got them in late February. I beat the rush....by the skin of my teeth.

[quote name='cruzegirl'][SIZE=3][COLOR=blue]Once again, I don't get all the complaining...... The Homeland Security Assoc. announced after 2001 that in 2007 passports would soon be required for all travel outside the United States...... Why did everyone wait?????????????[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]And if your someone who waited, then don't blame the government for the delay..... Why should they have to hire tons of people to do passports when if everyone would have been sending them in periodically since 2001, they wouldn't have delays.... They shouldn't be yelled at for Americans procrastinations....... [/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]I did my passport right after that and got it in 6 weeks....Didn't know when I'd travel but knew it would be required and wanted to have it if I did...... And the delays in renewals are the exception.... But first timers are partially to blame...... :rolleyes: [/COLOR][/SIZE][/quote]

[Xiabelle]

My husband and I applied for ours in the week between Christmas and New Years, when we were both off work.

We received them by the end of January! Great turnaround time. We knew when the deadline would be... and we figured everyone would start applying so we did it before the year turned. Evidently we made the right choice.

Although the current delay is why I haven't yet changed my name, despite having gotten married in March. I just didn't trust everything to get back to me in time if I'd had to submit the name change....

There's a huge demand and I know a lot of people are waiting it out. I think people got complacent with the turnarounds, waited to long, and then ended up having to expedite them, which is why the backlog. I'm sure it will catch up eventually.

[GoinCruisin]

[quote name='tkportersat']No the govt. said you need them, oh no you don't, oh yes you do, on no wait not just yet, ok now you do, well ok now we really mean it, oh no wait lets not, OK we are finally serious and you do.....that is why so many more people put it off than didn't. If they would have just said you need it by______then it would have been done and over with. THEY are the ones that cried wolf too many times. Thankfully I got tired of worrying about it myself and what they would and wouldn't do, so I applied in January for my June cruise - got them in late February. I beat the rush....by the skin of my teeth.[/quote]


They NEVER said you DON'T need them... they simply extended the deadline a few times, but they never said you didn't need them. I can't imagine anyone getting the impression that they WOULDN'T need them... everyone has known that eventually they wouldn't extend the deadline any longer... and even now, when they DIDN'T extend the deadline, they are having to extend it until September, LOL. They DID say "you need it by"... that was January for air travel... and now they have had to make a special amendment to that... so no, it would not have been "done and over with"... it was not "them" that cried wolf, it was the airlines, and tourist countries, congressmen/women with special interest :rolleyes:, etc. that caused so much pressure that they had to extend the deadlines... Again, it is always fun to blame the government.

[DqALEX]

[quote name='JayDeeJay']. . . about the absurd breakdown in the system. If it's taking 14+ weeks to obtain a passport because the office is overwhelmed with >millions of applications, it apparently hasn't occurred to anyone to put more people on the job. Beaurocacy at its finest. I've gotten a canned response from all three ... in the past, I've actually gotten called by a real human being, but it was MONTHS later.

The American people are not being served by those sworn to serve and protect ... and yet we all just grumble about it and shake our collective head. Instead, we need to make it clear this is not acceptable!

If you want to know how to get in touch with your representatives in Washington, and let them know how you feel, I'll be glad to give you the link!!!
:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:[/QUOTE]
Good for you. Mine would hang up on me if I called him.

[nrdsb4]

[quote name='dms_cruisers04']No, that emphasizes my point exactly. Tens of millions (I guess that makes my point clearer) of people did not just start applying for their passports all of the sudden. There has been an ongoing influx of applications. If the State Dept already expected to process more applications than it had last year, we can't keep telling everybody that it's their fault because they waited too long.
For some that is completely true, but we can't keep lumping everyone together.[/quote]


I don't see how this makes your point exactly. You said nothing about "tens of millions" suddenly applying for passports, you said you didn't believe millions had applied for passports in the last six months. In only the first two months of this year 1.5 million[B][I] more than normal[/I][/B] "suddenly" applied for passports. I think that's a pretty significant number. If even the same amount have applied since January, that's over 3 million more than normal for this time of year, not to mention the millions that would normally be applying. I'm not making [B][I]any[/I][/B] judgments about whose fault this is, just disputing your initial statement where you said you didn't believe millions had applied in the last six months. They most certainly have. To the point that the government has been forced to stop and make concessions to handle both the load as well as the anger which has ensued. I think it's great that they have at least made this adjustment to allow folks to use regular i.d. plus their passport application receipt. And I must say, for the past two years when I read on these boards the multiple arguments pro and con for going ahead and getting the passports, I was just glad I already had mine. There were actually people on cruise critic encouraging others to wait on applying as the requirement would "NEVER" happen.

[nofishforme]

[SIZE=6]Im so glad i got mine a year and half ago it took 6 weeks to get it they spelled my middle name wrong sent it back got it 2 weeks later ..Now in ten years when it expires i will be ahead of all you folks that have waited to the last minute [/SIZE]
[SIZE=6]so once again you will have to wait again :p [/SIZE]
[SIZE=6][/SIZE]

[joan_al]

[quote name='GoinCruisin']Did you not read the latest change with passports?? At this point, writing is silly... since they announced last week due to the backlog, you will be allowed to fly to Canada or Mexico with your receipt, showing that you have applied... Here is a link to the information: [URL]http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html[/URL]

They KNOW there is a backlog...

We aren't being served by those who are sworn to serve and protect?? Nonsense... those people that gave themselves plenty of time, over the past TWO YEARS they have known about this, were served just fine... sorry, but it's true. They stated 10-12 weeks, yours is 2 weeks beyond that... I wouldn't be too upset yet, there are people that have waited much longer... Surely you gave yourself plenty of time before your upcoming flight?? Either way, don't panic... as long as you have applied, you will be fine...[/quote]
The people that had there application in on the day of announcement will be granted to travel with those docs. Anyone applying after that date will have to wait.............

[sa_girl]

We have problems this side of the pond as well. I am entitled to apply for my British passport after 4 years of being married to my british husband. My application went in 9 weeks ago and they haven't yet deposited the fee for the application. After at least 20 telephone calls I got through to the government office and they tell me they too cannot cope with all the applications, and haven't even opened the envelope yet that my application was sent in! Even if you send them a fax it takes two weeks for the fax to reach the desk of the person you sent it to. You couldn't make this up if you wanted to!!! Our first cruise is December and I am really worried that I will not have my passport.
Scary scary .....

[GoinCruisin]

[quote name='sa_girl']We have problems this side of the pond as well. I am entitled to apply for my British passport after 4 years of being married to my british husband. My application went in 9 weeks ago and they haven't yet deposited the fee for the application. After at least 20 telephone calls I got through to the government office and they tell me they too cannot cope with all the applications, and haven't even opened the envelope yet that my application was sent in! Even if you send them a fax it takes two weeks for the fax to reach the desk of the person you sent it to. You couldn't make this up if you wanted to!!! Our first cruise is December and I am really worried that I will not have my passport.
Scary scary .....[/quote]

You should just blame it on the US Government :p Everyone else does!!! LOL!!!!

Seriously... I hope you get it soon!!!

[cusyl]

I like to travel, therefore I have had a passport for 30 years!
Anyone that expects to travel out of the United States should have already had one.:rolleyes:

[truecruiser]

[quote name='nofishforme'][SIZE=3]Im so glad i got mine a year and half ago it took 6 weeks to get it they spelled my middle name wrong sent it back got it 2 weeks later ..Now in ten years when it expires i will be ahead of all you folks that have waited to the last minute [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]so once again you will have to wait again :p [/SIZE]
[/quote]

i thought of that too, but didn't want to add to their misery. i wonder if they had yet realized this wld only go on and on for them.