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Passport Problems Likely to Worsen by 2008

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

June 20, 2007

The federal government has even reacted to the deluge by postponing til September a rule that required valid passports for U.S. citizens arriving by air from Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, or Mexico.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that the long waits for passports will be even longer next year, when new rules require passports for anyone crossing into the United States by land or water.

When the year began, only 27 per cent of Americans had passports, according to the American Automobile Association. Most of those who lacked them were also unaware of new rules requiring passports rather than driver’s licenses for anyone arriving by air from neighboring and nearby nations. Those arriving by land, such as those trying to cross the U.S. border from Canada, would not have to show passports until January 2008.

Understanding the rule changes and coping with them proved too much for too many travelers, who put off passport acquisition until the last possible moment. Many who made summer travel plans had to cancel them because their passports were not processed quickly enough.

To compound the felony, the government failed to live up to its promise to expedite passports for anyone willing to pay a $60 surcharge on top of the normal $97 fee. Even at $157 a pop, however, the feds failed to comply with their own 14-day turnaround timetable.

In fact, many who plopped down the extra cash still had to wait a month or more.

To receive a refund, consumers who failed to receive timely passport service after forking over the surcharge should write to the U.S. State Department’s passport refund office. Each refund letter should include the appropriate passport number, date of application, plus the writer’s name, date of birth, place of birth, mailing address, and telephone number. Adding an email address wouldn’t hurt either.

What could hurt is enforcement of the tighter passport law next January.

In addition to those arriving by air, U.S. citizens arriving by sea or driving back into the country from Canada or Mexico will have to show valid passports. If this summer’s gridlock serves as an accurate barometer, implementation of that rule could trigger an application deluge that will make this year’s backlog look like passport spring training.

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