Summer travel season is here but passports aren't as long delays continue

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Summertime travel is starting to heat up, but many are still waiting for their U.S. Passport to arrive in the mail.

For some, it’s been more than a four-month wait.

On Thursday, two local congressmen sent a letter to the Department of State to try and help get those passports completed faster.

In 2022, more than 22 million passports were processed by the state department. In 2023, it’s expected that demand for travel IDs will be up 30 to 40 percent.

“We’ve just been seeing these massive delays,” Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids told KMBC.

It’s an issue that’s been around since the COVID-19 Pandemic. That was supposed to be solved by a new online portal, part of a $163 million budget allocation to improve the delivery of passport services.

Unfortunately, that rollout has been anything but smooth.

“That portal was taken down because of systemic issues, and of course, we want to know when’s the portal going to be back up?” Davids said.

The congresswoman adds that staffing issues need to be addressed, as well as more passport office locations.

For example, the closest passport office to the Kansas City area is in Hot Springs, Arkansas, about an eight-hour drive.

“We should have much easier access to a passport office,” Davids said.

It’s an issue that affects both sides of the state line. They say a typical passport should take between eight to 11 weeks to arrive.

“It’s the number one issue that congressional offices receive,” Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II told KMBC.

The congressman adds that the pandemic shouldn’t be an excuse for delayed passports.

“We need more workers,” Cleaver said.

Davids and Cleaver hope their letter is a wake-up call to the State Department. They say delays are costing folks money because they’re trying to get a more expensive passport.