CNN
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Late planners in the US planning a trip abroad have a little more breathing room than before.

The State Department announced Thursday that the typical processing time for U.S. passports has now dropped to four to six weeks. The previous processing time was six to eight weeks.

The shorter time frame is a further relief after the massive backlog during the pandemic, which led to waiting times of up to 18 weeks in the summer of 2021.

The updated processing time of four to six weeks applies to applications submitted on paper or online, the State Department said in its notice.

And what if you figuratively pushed the time limit for applying for a passport to the last minute? For those requiring expedited service, processing will take two to three weeks.

And all of this doesn’t take into account the time it takes to send the valuable gateway document in the mail.

“These processing times begin upon receipt of an application by the State Department and do not include mailing times,” the State Department statement said.

In mid-September, the State Department launched a service that allows Americans to renew their passports online. This service is available to adults renewing a regular 10-year passport that has expired in the last five years or is expiring in the coming year.

Learn more about applying for or renewing a U.S. passport by clicking here on the U.S. Department of State website.

A US passport can open many travel doors.

The Henley Passport Index, created by London-based global citizenship and residency advisory firm Henley & Partners, publishes an annual ranking of the world’s best-performing passports.

A Singapore passport is the strongest passport for 2024, and the United States ranks in the top 10.

CNN’s Forrest Brown contributed to this article.