Canceled trips and no refunds: Passport delays are derailing travelers

https://www.npr.org/2023/07/08/ [login to see] /canceled-trips-and-no-refunds-passport-delays-are-derailing-travelers
Dakotah Hendricks from Virginia Beach, Va. made sure she did everything right in order to visit her husband, who is deployed overseas, this summer.

She filed an application for a new passport months in advance and paid for expedited processing. She spent hours on the phone with the passport hotline and even sought help from her local congressman. But four months later, Hendricks had no choice but to miss her flight.

"I applied for this with enough cushion room for there to be delays," she told NPR. "But that didn't matter."

Across the country, long-awaited reunions and hard-earned vacations are being upended by what the State Department described as an "unprecedented demand for passports."

In March, the department said standard processing time for a new or renewed passport could take up to 13 weeks. But many passport seekers are finding that the wait is well beyond that — leaving trips abroad compromised and travelers scrambling for refunds on airfare and lodging.