Looking to travel internationally soon but need to apply for or renew your passport? We’ve got great news!

Passport

If you’ve tried to get a new U.S. passport or renew your existing passport in the last couple of years, chances are you’ve run into delays among other issues. Fortunately, the U.S. Department of State has fixed most of these problems, and for some folks, it’s about to be even easier to get passports and other travel documents!

Orlando will be getting a new passport office run by the U.S. State Department soon, which will make it home to only the second passport office operating in Florida. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando, made the announcement according to News 6 Orlando.

©U.S. Department of State

State Department passport centers like these are meant to handle urgent travel needs like getting a passport issued same-day or getting a foreign visa within a month. Keep in mind that this office will operate differently from passport counters at local post offices or at the county clerk of courts.

Instead, offices are by appointment only — and require an additional fee in order to expedite any processing. Because there is often only one of these types of offices per state, they tend to be backed up with requests. As of now, the only other passport office in Florida is in Miami, with the next closest being Atlanta, Georgia.

Rep. Frost has been pushing for the State Department to look at opening an Orlando office and extending the operating hours of the Miami office.

“Last summer my office saw an influx in folks and cases of people very stressed in trying to get their summer travel plans booked, whether it was for vacation or a funeral or graduation, only to figure out that their passport was expired or about to expire,” Frost shared. “Our system was totally backed up, with renewals taking over six weeks.”

©U.S. State Department

Additional U.S. cities will be getting passport offices, including Cincinnati; San Antonio; Kansas City, Missouri; Salt Lake City; and Charlotte. According to Frost, the General Services Administration is now tasked with finding a place for the Orlando office soon which can take up to a year. He hopes to have the office up much sooner, though.

Airplane

This is welcome news, especially as passport processing times just recently returned to pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2023. Per the Department of State, “Between October 2022 and September 2023 (the federal fiscal year), the Department of State issued over 24 million passport books and cards – the highest amount ever in our nation’s history.”

If you want to get started on your passport application or renewal, visit the U.S. Department of State’s website here.

©U.S. Dept. of State

Hopefully, this makes it easier for folks to get those important travel documents the next time they’re in need. If you’re looking for the latest travel, theme park, and food news, make sure you stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog to get all the newest updates and more!

Getting Your Passport Just Got EASIER

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Does this new passport office make your life any easier? Tell us in the comments.