A little more than a year ago, the U.S. State Department recommended travelers submit applications for new passports or renewals at least six months before departure as the office was overwhelmed with applications – 400,000 to 500,000 a week – and “vengeance” grew in the wake of the pandemic ” travel.

But in an update released last week and less than a month after unveiling a new and improved online application system, the agency says processing times for passport applications have dropped to four to six weeks, surpassing typical processing times The COVID-19 outbreak was improved last year, but it was also the fastest in decades.

“This announcement comes after months of issuing passports well below the six- to eight-week commitment and demonstrates our progress in continually improving the efficiency, equity, and accessibility of the U.S. passport application process,” the State Department wrote in its announcement. “The updated processing time of four to six weeks applies to both paper and online applications.”

Last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the updated online application portal was one of several changes that helped shorten wait times for passport applicants.

“By offering this online alternative to the traditional paper application process, the department is leveraging digital transformation to provide the most efficient and convenient passport renewal possible,” Blinken said in a statement. “Thanks to increased staffing, technological advances and a variety of other improvements, the average routine passport is now processed in about a third of the time as it was at the same time last summer and well below the advertised processing times of six to eight weeks.”

According to a Forbes report, the State Department processed 24 million passport applications last year, the most passport applications ever.

The agency expects that 5 million customers will be eligible to use the online application portal platform for renewals each year, a number that represents two-thirds of all renewals and approximately 25% of all applications it receives annually.

New passport offices

In addition to the added convenience of a streamlined online system and the fastest processing times in years, Blinken announced earlier this year that Utah will have its own passport office. Currently, the closest location is 500 miles away in Denver.

“To better serve the growing number of Americans applying for U.S. passports, the Department is taking steps to establish six new passport agencies. These offices – opening in Salt Lake City; Kansas City; Orlando; Charlotte; San Antonio; and Cincinnati — reflect our commitment to providing more Americans with fast customer service close to home,” Blinken said in the June announcement.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox praised the news from the passport office this summer.

“We are grateful to Senator Romney and the rest of our congressional delegation for their great work in bringing a passport office to Utah,” Cox said. “We are proud of how many Utahns have international experience and language skills. In-person passport services will be an important improvement for Utahns and will increase Utah’s international reach.”