Washington — Connie Raynor and Vicki Heller were making their packing lists for the European cruise of a lifetime.
“We booked in 2022, not realizing that our passports were about to expire,” Raynor told CBS News of the trip, which included 81 family and friends.
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“So that’s when the nightmare starts,” Heller added.
They say coordinating logistics was easy compared with renewing their passports. They applied for renewal about three months before departure. Then, realizing the documents may not arrive in time, they requested expedited processing. They even offered to fly to an in-person appointment anywhere in the country, but none were available.
They quite literally missed the boat, receiving their passports several days after their ship left.
“This trip was everything to us,” Raynor said.
The State Department is continuing to receive a surge of passport applications, about 430,000 per week. With turnaround times now up to 13 weeks, panicked passengers are flocking to passport offices and petitioning members of Congress for help.
“We contacted (our) congressman’s office, said ‘what can you do for us?'” Raynor said.
The U.S. issued a record 22 million passports in the 2022 fiscal year as Americans prepared to travel more freely again with the COVID-19 pandemic subsiding.
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“I don’t know who is in charge of passports at the State Department, but I wouldn’t trust them to take my lunch order,” Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told CBS News.
In March, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the State Department was “on track to break” that record this year amid “unprecedented demand” for passports.
“I’ve moved three staff members into working just on just passports. It’s overwhelming our office,” said Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, who proposed legislation earlier this month that would improve online tracking of passport applications, allow the State Department to hire more staff and limit turnaround time to 12 weeks.
“This is a basic governmental job,” Lankford said.
As for Raynor and Heller, they are trying to recoup what they can from the cruise line, and issuing a warning to others.
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“Check your travel documents, make sure that everything’s in order,” Raynor said.
