Improved Travel Preparation Tools a Welcome Development

With the holiday season approaching, it is nice to have some good news to report for international travelers. Whether you’re planning to see family overseas or take a holiday cruise, Arkansans should find many of the processes easier to navigate than in recent years.

Most notable will be the length of time waiting to receive a passport, thanks to the tremendous work by the U.S. State Department to bring processing times back to pre-pandemic levels. The Bureau of Consular Affairs says applicants should now expect four to six weeks for routine service and two to three weeks for expedited processing.

You may have heard about or even personally experienced the extensive backlog in passport applications that wreaked havoc with travel plans for many Americans in 2023. My office alone helped more than 600 Arkansans with passports that year. However, thanks to the diligent efforts of officials across the country, this critical system is back to normal. If you need to apply for the first time or are beyond your renewal date, visit Travel.State.Gov/passport for the latest forms and fees.

Another recent improvement will be evident for Americans who need to renew a passport. The new Online Passport Renewal (OPR) system is a secure, online process that saves time and effort. This innovation helps applicants avoid having to send a paper application, photos or a check by mail. Instead, all this information and payment can be submitted online at Travel.State.Gov/renewonline. In today’s world where convenience and accessibility are key elements that inform our decision-making, this option should satisfy many of those planning a visit abroad in the years ahead.

As we get closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas, my office fields increased calls from Arkansans who forgot to check the expiration date of their passport or who can’t find it at the last minute. So, the most important advice from the State Department is to find and check your passport well before your trip to avoid extra fees and extra stress.

Despite the best planning, there are still situations where an in-person passport appointment is necessary for urgent travel. We do have a processing center in Arkansas that can help. However, it only handles emergency applications and does not take walk-in visitors.

Fortunately, if you need to travel within 14 days, it is now much easier to request an appointment online. Your appointment must be scheduled within 14 calendar days of your international travel date. If you have already applied and are concerned your passport will not arrive in time, call 1-877-487-2778 for help.

And if you find yourself in a difficult situation with an emergency passport request or any other problem with the federal government, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office. We are always pleased to help.

With these tools available, I hope Arkansans headed abroad will be better prepared to reach their destinations with less stress, which is worth appreciating alongside the journey itself.