Wayment!!! How long is the wait again?

So yeah, if you are planning to travel in a month or so, rethink that! If you've already booked a trip and hoping to have your passport by the time you travel, I surely hope you have travel insurance to switch it if you have to!

According to the State Department, it's taking up to 18 weeks for processing and they don't see that time letting up any time soon. They have approximately 1 to 2 million applications in their backlog, which is "Somewhat higher than normal," according to Deputy Assistant Secretary for Passport Services Rachel Arndt. Oh and don't think expediting your application is much better, it's taking 12 weeks for those to be processed. It makes me wonder how many applications they receive on a regular though, I'm quite sure that this uptick has been brought on by the "World opening," kinda sorta.

So what does that mean for you? Plan ahead. Take the wait times and your destination into full consideration. If your wanderlust leads you to the beach, consider staying stateside or check out the islands that don't require a passport.

Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, United States Virgin Islands, Guam and America Samoa all have Instagram worthy backdrops and it'll still make people want to travel there after you come back! So don't fret if you don't get your passport back in time, there's always OPTIONS! PLEASE BUHLEE ME!

xoxo

J