Are you due for a U.S. passport renewal in 2017? If so, better get going on it soon. The U.S. State Department is expecting a tsunami of applications for either renewals or new passports this year.

Why the hordes of people? No, it’s not due to the Trump presidency. U.S. passports last for ten years, and it was ten years ago that rules were changed requiring Americans traveling by air to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean to have valid passports, rather than the previously acceptable driver’s license or other ID. This caused the first wave of passport requests, backing up the State Department and extending passport waits from weeks to months.

Brenda Sprague, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Passport Services, recently told the Associated Press, “In 2007, it was not a good situation. We did a lot of post-mortem discussions and have spent ten years getting ready for this and addressing all the challenges we expected to come. We are extremely busy but I am pleased to say that we are so far, knock wood, staying well ahead of the curve.”

The State Department expects 20.5 million applications this year for passports or renewals, up from the average of 13 million in previous years. Don’t get caught in the bottleneck, especially since passport applications always spike in the summer tourist season. Remember also that many countries require you to have six more months before your passport expires in order to be allowed to enter the country.

For more information on passport renewals or applications, please see this site for details:

https://cr.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/ Make your appointment soon!