Here’s a tip for the millions of Americans who applied for a passport in 2007, the year the U.S. government made travelers carry the blue book or other approved documents for all travel within the Western Hemisphere: Prepare to renew. Need more motivation? September is Passport Awareness Month.
After implementing the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, requiring a passport for air travel to and from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, the State Department experienced a rush of applications, from 12.1 million in 2006 to 18.6 million the following year. The book is valid for 10 years.
To handle the deluge, the department has added more than 550 passport services employees since 2007 and plans to hire more over the next two years. It also opened 10 new passport agencies across the country and may expand call-center hours during the next few years.
Mail is the quickest and cheapest route to renewal; you can find all of the forms and requirements on the State Department’s website.
