06/05/2007

News / Surge in applications creates passport bottleneck

Dr. Ryan Thompson was desperate.

He was scheduled to leave for Israel, then go on to Mexico on a medical goodwill mission, the first weekend in June. Weeks ago, he'd mailed his passport-renewal application, but the document never arrived.

For three days, he awoke at 3 a.m. to work the government's phone bank, trying to get an appointment at the San Francisco Passport Agency. On the rare occasions he got through, he found that every slot was taken -- then he was automatically disconnected. Nor could he track the status of his application online.

Last week he decided to drive 3-1/2 hours to the agency in San Francisco from Murphy, his home in the Sierra foothills. The only family doctor in town, he had to cancel the appointments of nearly two-dozen patients for the day.

"I didn't know if I'd get in the door; I took a chance," he said. "But I felt stuck. It's been a nightmare."

Countless other American travelers are in the same predicament.

Triggered by new regulations this year requiring passports for air travel to Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda, a massive spike in applications has caused a nail-biting backlog. In April and March, new records were set for passport production as the State Department issued more than 3 million passports. Between October and April, 8.6 million passports were issued, a 33 percent increase over the same period the prior year.

With demand at an all-time high, standard application processing is currently averaging 10 to 12 weeks, nearly twice the usual turnaround time. Travelers are now being advised to apply at least three months before expected trips.

"It's been a banner year," said Karl Duckworth, a department spokesman.

Initially caught flat-footed, the agency in recent months has doubled staffing at the National Passport Information Center and expanded call center hours to include weekends. In addition, high-capacity phone lines have been installed and a new mega-processing center in Arkansas ramped up production in April; when it hits full capacity by year's end, the facility is expected to process 10 million applications yearly.

"We are hearing of some issues; that's why we hired more people," said Duckworth.

Marketing consultant Michele Nemschoss lost a day of work, and her fifth-grade daughter, Danielle, 11, missed school, picking up Danielle's passport last week -- Nemschoss had applied for the document nearly 10 weeks earlier.

"I go out of my way not to schedule dental and doctor appointments during the day because I don't want her to miss school," Nemschoss said. "What was so frustrating was you couldn't get through on the phone and the Web site didn't give you sufficient information."

In early February, Patricia Kushlis, a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer who co-writes a blog, WhirledView, began warning readers of the looming problem.

"All along, the State Department has been too optimistic," she said. "They need to revamp what they are doing. Some people are being forced to cancel trips at the last minute and losing money."

In recent months, the U.S. Postal Service in the San Francisco district, which covers Oregon to San Jose, Calif., has seen the number of passport applications double to 3,500 a month. The Postal Service charges a $30 processing fee plus $15 for photos, in addition to the $67 government fee. In response to the mushrooming demand, nearly 50 passport fairs have been held throughout the three postal districts of Northern California over the past few months.

"We're used to procrastinators, so we've been holding the fairs as frequently as possible," said spokesman Augustine Ruiz. "The amount of time to process at the post office hasn't changed -- you're in and out. But it now takes longer to get your passport back. People who are thinking of taking summer vacations might consider a fall vacation instead."

The delay is creating a bonanza for private passport "fixers." One mobile notary company in San Bruno, Calif., expanded into passport expediting a few months ago, charging $50 to $125 in addition to government fees.

By ELIZABETH FERNANDEZ


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