U.S. Passport Services: Background and Issues for Congress
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https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated November 19, 2024
State Department Passport Services: Background and Issues for Congress
Background
U.S. Passport Services: Background and Issues for Congress
Background
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) definesdefines a passport as “"an internationally recognized travel document that verifies the identity and nationality of the bearer.”" Congress has vested authority inauthorized DOS to grant, issue, and verify U.S. passports. DOS data indicate that the number of passports ithas indicated the share of Americans holding a passport has increased from 5% in 1990 to 48% in 2024. Further, the number of passports DOS issues on an annual basis has increased substantially since the mid-1990s. DOS’. DOS'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 FY2024FY2025, CA issued 24.527.3 million passports, which exceeds the number of passports issued in FY2023 by nearly 500,000 and marks a new annual record (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. U.S. Passports Issued, FY2019-FY2024
Source: State Department, Bureau of Consular Affairs “Reports and Statistics,” marks a new annual record (see Figure 1). As demand for passports increases, Congress may seek to conduct continued oversight to ensure that DOS effectively implements plans announced by the Biden Administration and continued by the Trump Administration to modernize and expand passport services across the United States.
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Passport Application, Adjudication, and Processing Steps
Current DOS regulations require first-time applicants for a U.S. passport, along with most applicants under age 18 seeking to renew their passport, to submit their application in person at a passport acceptance facility. There are over 7,400 passport acceptance facilities across the United States. They include post offices, clerks of court, public libraries, and other local government offices. DOS advises those intending to travel in less than three weeks to make an appointment at a passport agency or center (described in the following paragraph) rather than visit a passport acceptance facility. Those applicantsApplicants seeking to renew their passport are oftengenerally eligible to do so online or through the mail.
Department of the Treasury-administered payment processing centers (often referred to as “lockbox facilities” or “lockboxes”)
DOS-administered application intake facilities are responsible for opening and sorting passport application packages (sent through the mail or online), processing passport application fees, entering relevant application data into DOS serversdatabases, and transmitting application packages to passport agencies and centers for adjudication. CA currently administers 2928 passport agencies and centers across the United States and has announced plans to open six additional agencies (for more detail, see the “"Passport Services in 2023 and 2024Since 2023: From Processing Delays to
Service Improvements” headingService Improvements" section). Once a passport application is approved, the application information is electronically transmitted to a print center 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. In addition to adjudicating applications transmitted from lockboxesintake facilities, many passport agencies and centers offer in-person passport services by appointment to those who require a passport quickly for urgent international travel needs.
While the aforementioned procedures generally apply to U.S. citizens in the United States, U.S. embassies and other overseas posts also offer passport services to U.S. citizens abroad. Specific procedures vary by post. In mostsome cases, U.S. citizens must apply for all passport services in person at the relevant embassy or consulate, while other posts allow qualified applicants to renew their passport by mail. 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.
Passport Services in 2023 and 2024Since 2023: From Processing Delays to Service Improvements
In 2023, U.S. citizens applying for a passport faced delays throughout much of 2023, as, with processing times for routine applications having increased from 6-9six to nine weeks in January 2023 to 10-13 weeks by March. During a congressional hearing in June 2023, then-Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Rena Bitter attributed several factors to longer processing timesascribed longer processing times to several factors. These factors included attrition within CA’'s passport adjudication workforce followingthat followed the onset of the COVID- 19 pandemic and the need to meet continued in-person work requirements, along with addressing pent-up demand for passports among the American public after COVID-19-related international travel restrictions were relaxed. In December 2023, DOS announced that it had successfully met its goal of returning processing times to pre-pandemicprepandemic levels, which were (as of December 2019) 6-8six to eight weeks for routine applications and 2-3two to three weeks for expedited applications.
As the 2023 processing delays have receded, DOS has advanced several policies in 2024receded, DOS sought to advance several policies intended to improve passport services. In some cases, congressional action has contributed to DOS’'s work in this area. For example, Section 6104 of the Department of State Authorization Act of 2023 (Division F of P.L. 118-31) required the Secretary of State to submit a strategy to Congress describing how DOS could “"provide [U.S.] residents living in a significant population center more than a 5-hour drive from a passport agency with urgent, in-person passport services, including the possibility of building new passport agencies.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken submitted this strategy to Congress on June
State Department Passport Services: Background and Issues for Congress
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18, 2024. The strategy revealed DOS’" Congress also strengthened oversight of passport processing. Section 6102 of the DOS Authorization Act of 2023 required DOS to submit quarterly reports to Congress regarding processing times.
Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken submitted a strategy to comply with Section 6104 to Congress on June 18, 2024. The strategy revealed DOS's intention to open six new passport agencies located in Salt Lake City, UT; Kansas City, MO; Orlando, FL; Charlotte, NC; San Antonio, TX; and Cincinnati, OH. In addition to planning these new agencies, DOS has worked to increase the availability of urgent in-person passport services through other means, as the Charleston, South Carolina Passport Center began offering appointments for these services for the first time in August 2024.
In July 2025, the Trump Administration submitted its most recent Section 6102 report regarding processing times to Congress. The report explained that DOS met committed processing times by increasing passport application adjudicative staffing by over 32% since January 2022 and authorizing the use of staff overtime during periods of increased demand. The report indicated that DOS intended to hire additional passport staff in 2025. As of this writing, CRS has not seen information suggesting how many, if any, additional personnel DOS hired in the latter part of 2025. At his nomination hearing in January 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed his intention to build upon former Secretary Blinken's work to modernize the passport issuance process and open six new passport agencies. In other areas, the Trump Administration has taken a different approach from the Biden Administration. On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14168, titled "Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government." This E.O. tasked Secretary Rubio with ensuring that each passport reflected "an individual's immutable biological classification as either male or female." This reversed prior policy that allowed passport applicants to self-select their gender and provided for a third "X" gender marker, which the Biden Administration described as for those of an "unspecified or another gender identity." For additional detail on these matters, see the "Issues for Congress" section. As Congress conducts oversight and potentially considers other options to direct or shape DOS's ongoing efforts to enhance passport services, Members may consider the following issues:On December 13, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14058, titled Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery To Rebuild Trust in Government. E.O. 14058 required the Secretary of State to “design and deliver a new online passport renewal experience that does not require any physical documents to be mailed.” Secretary Blinken announced in September 2024 that DOS was making its online passport renewal system (OPR) fully available to the public. DOS previously offered OPR on a more limited basis through pilot programs and beta testing dating back to at least 2022. DOS has noted that although OPR offers considerable convenience Additionally, in September 2024, then-Secretary Blinken announced that DOS was making its online passport renewal system (OPR) fully available to the public. Although OPR eases elements of the renewal process (by eliminating the need for eligible applicants to takeobtain physical passport photos, fill out a paper application, and mail these and other required materials), it does not reduce passport processing times., OPR does not enable the applicant to obtain a new passport more quickly than if they did so by mail. Additionally, OPR eligibility criteria are currently limited to applicants who are ageaged 25 or older, are renewing a passport that is (or was) valid for 10 years and is either expiring within one year or expired less than five years ago, and are not requesting expedited processing, among other requirements. When announcing the launch of OPR, then-Secretary Blinken noted that passports were being processed "well under the advertised [six to eight] weeks processing times." On October 3, 2024, DOS announced that processing times had been reduced from the prior commitment of six to eight weeks to four to six weeks for routine applications. It added that expedited passport processing remained at two to three weeks. As of this writing, DOS lists routine processing times of four to six weeks and expedited processing times of two to three weeks.
renewing a passport issued between 2009 and 2015, and not requesting expedited processing, among other requirements. Assistant Secretary Bitter characterized the OPR launch as a “first step” and said DOS intends to make this option more widely available.
When announcing the full launch of OPR in September 2024, Secretary Blinken noted that the “average routine passport” was being processed “well under the advertised [6-8] weeks processing times.” On October 3, 2024, DOS announced that advertised processing times had been reduced from 6-8 weeks to 4-6 weeks for routine applications. The announcement further stated that expedited passport processing remained at 2-3 weeks. Congress strengthened oversight of this matter in 2023, as Section 6102 of the aforementioned DOS Authorization Act of 2023 requires DOS to submit quarterly reports to Congress regarding processing times. These reports have generally indicated that efforts to hire additional staff to adjudicate passport applications, the use of staff overtime, and adjudication process improvements have enabled DOS to issue both routine and expedited passports more quickly than the processing times DOS published online. The reports have added that DOS intends to further leverage direct hire authority that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) provided it in November 2023 to hire more adjudicative staff.
DOS has launched additional efforts intended to improve passport services that in some cases appear to reflect congressional priorities. For example, DOS informed Congress in August 2024 that it had updated its online passport status website to provide more detailed information to applicants seeking to learn of the status of their pending applications. Section 6106 of the DOS
Authorization Act of 2023 similarly called on DOS to modernize this website to offer additional detail to applicants. DOS further noted in August 2024 that it was transmitting passport renewal reminder e-mails to passport holders when their passport is one year away from expiring. Section 6110 of the DOS Authorization Act of 2023 required DOS to take such action.
Issues for Congress
As Congress conducts oversight and potentially considers other options to direct or shape DOS’s ongoing efforts to enhance passport services, Members may consider the following issues:
Passport Agency Expansion. DOS indicated to Congress that it plans to spend $98.3 million for initial costs for the six planned new passport agencies. According to DOS, such funding will cover costs including design, construction, IT infrastructure, furniture, and security infrastructure. DOS intends to open these new agencies in 2026. In a 2023 report to Congress, DOS noted that building, equipping, and staffing new passport agencies could be time-intensive, citing issues such as the approvals process for construction and the effort required to vet and train new staff. Congress may seek to determine whether additional authorities and/or resources are required to enable DOS to stand up these new agencies within its stated timeframes.
Modernization and Security. Since 2020, congressional engagement on passport services has focused largely on ensuring DOS eliminated COVID-19 pandemic-related processing delays and modernized and improved customer service. DOS asserts that its modernization efforts are intended in part to make consular operations more secure. Congress may seek more information from DOS as to how, if at all, passport services modernization addresses relevant security concerns, which may include protecting personally identifiable information of applicants and ensuring those seeking to obtain a passport illegally are not able to do so.
Passport Application and Execution Fees (PAEF). Congress authorizes DOS to collect fees for the filing of each passport application (application fee) and executing each such application (execution fee). While DOS was previously required to remit these fees to the Treasury, in 2022 Congress authorized DOS to retain these fees indefinitely and expend fees deposited in FY2022 on providing consular services. DOS is required to secure budget authority from Congress to expend fees deposited after FY2022. Authorities for other passport fees and surcharges, including the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative surcharge and the passport security surcharge, make the collections available to DOS until expenditure and do not require Congress to provide further budget authority. Congress may consider possible benefits and drawbacks of making PAEF proceeds available until expenditure or of keeping the existing arrangement in place. Alternatively, should Congress find that DOS no longer requires the PAEF to provide sufficient consular services, it may again require DOS to remit these fees to the Treasury.
Cory R. Gill, Analyst in Foreign Affairs
IF12466
State Department Passport Services: Background and Issues for Congress
https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF12466 · VERSION 2 · UPDATED
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
Sex and Gender Markers on Passports. E.O. 14168 reversed previous State Department policy allowing passport applicants to self-select their gender. In Orr v. Trump, transgender and nonbinary citizens challenged the policy in court, alleging that it violated the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act. The federal district court hearing the case issued a preliminary injunction barring the Administration from implementing the policy until the case was resolved. In November 2025, the Supreme Court stayed the injunction, allowing the Administration to proceed with the policy. The case is ongoing, and a decision on the merits has not been reached. Congress may choose to weigh in on this issue legislatively.
Passport Services Modernization. Congress continues to inform DOS passport modernization efforts. Section 7508 of the Department of State Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (Division G of P.L. 118-159) requires DOS to pursue modernization priorities, including the creation of a mobile app to allow passport applicants to communicate more closely with DOS during the adjudication process; the expansion of eligibility criteria for OPR to include most passport applicants, including adults applying for a passport for the first time; and the use of additional tools to adjudicate passport renewals, while maintaining human passport authorizing officers. Section 7508 required DOS to submit an action plan to Congress outlining how it intends to implement these modernization priorities and describing its current progress in doing so by December 2025. As of this writing, CRS has not seen indication that DOS submitted this plan. As Congress conducts oversight of DOS's efforts, it may seek to engage with the DOS to determine the nature of any additional funding, authorities, or other means of support DOS may require to implement this section of law consistent with congressional intent.