Post-pandemic travel is skyrocketing and while that’s good news, it’s creating a new problem -- big delays in passport renewals.
"Getting an appointment took more than a month," said Subha Krishanasany of San Jose.
And for her family, hoping to travel this summer, that delay was just to get the appointment to get to the post office.
"In the website it says up to eight weeks," said Krishanasany.
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Postal officials said they're seeing a sudden upturn in requests as people plan to fly and with standard turnaround times measured in months, some are getting caught short.
"A lot of people are having to postpone their travel plans," said Swapanthi Mandalika-Reeves, constituent services director at the Office of Santa Clara Representative Ro Khanna.
His office said it's doing what it can to help.
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"Whenever there are emergency situations, a medical emergency, life and death emergency, we are putting in those requests,” said Mandalika-Reeves.
But their best advice is to start early.
The current processing time, according to the passport office, is around 10-12 weeks, four to six weeks if you pay extra.
