Question: How long will the online passport renewal be down? If it doesn’t come back up soon, can I renew in person, or do I have to do it by mail? I’ve already bought plane tickets for June.
Answer: Don’t wait for the online portal to reopen if you need a passport for international travel this summer. Online renewal service was “paused” early this month and is not expected to resume until later this year, with no specific date announced. Online applications submitted by March 8 are being processed, but no new ones were accepted after that date, according to travel.state.gov, a website of the U.S. Department of State.
More than 500,000 people renewed their passports online during the roughly six months the portal was open to the general public. It’s been closed for “improvements based on customer feedback,” the website said.
Meanwhile, the State Department reports unprecedented demand for passports and urges people to apply well in advance of anticipated international travel. Routine processing now takes eight to 11 weeks, compared with six to nine weeks for people who applied before Feb. 6.
As for your second question, adults who are eligible to renew by mail should do so, using Form DS-82. To be eligible, you must have your undamaged passport in your possession (to submit with your application), and it must have been issued when you were 16 or older, within the past 15 years and in your current name (or you can document the name change).
Some readers don’t like mailing in the application on their own — they want an authority to review it first. However, passport acceptance facilities, such as certain public libraries and U.S. post offices, accept Form DS-11, which is for first-time applicants and people not eligible to renew by mail; applicants using this form must appear in person. It is possible for you to use Form DS-11, but you will be treated as a new applicant, not a renewal; it will cost you more in time and money than renewing by mail, and you’ll be taking up an appointment you could have gone without. The State Department’s website has step-by-step instructions that might ease concerns about mailing your application yourself, using form DS-82.
Last, yes, new applicants and renewal applicants may seek in-person service at Honolulu’s passport agency, but only if they have urgent international travel within 14 calendar days or need a foreign visa within 28 calendar days, according to the State Department website.
For details on all these topics, go to travel.state.gov and click on “Get a U.S. Passport.” To find a passport acceptance facility in Hawaii, go to iafdb.travel.state.gov. For an easy-to-read description of the process, forms, fees and information about public libraries that accept passport applications, go to 808ne.ws/libpass.
Scam alert
Scammers are impersonating the FBI and state Attorney General’s Office. Hang up on anyone who claims to be calling from those agencies demanding money in any form. “Law enforcement agencies, including the Department of the Attorney General and the FBI, will never — and I repeat, never — call Hawaii residents on the phone demanding them to transmit money, whether in the form of cryptocurrency, an anonymous payment card, a wire transfer, or any other means, in order to avoid imminent arrest. These people are criminal scammers. Immediately hang up the phone, do not call them back, and under no circumstances reveal personal information or send them money,” Attorney General Anne Lopez said Thursday in a news release.
Mahalo
Mahalo to many angels who came to help me on the evening of Feb. 28 when my car crashed. Many angels came to me, and I didn’t get their names, except the first person who came with a very comforting voice and warm arms to find out he was an old co-worker, Tim Clark! Truly an unexpected angel who turns out to be someone I know! Very heartening to know there are strangers who will come to your aid when in need. I wish them all a wonderful life with many blessings. — Grateful senior
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
