"Expedited" Passport Applications to Take Longer to Process

[babylonsister]

Even 'fast' passport service is getting slower

By DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press


WASHINGTON — For people seeking U.S. passports, faster service is getting slower.

The summer's maddening backlog in passport applications has forced officials to abandon the old standard of a week's wait for people willing to pay $60 extra for speedy service.

People can expect to wait about three weeks for expedited service, and the government indicated today they should get used to it. A regular application now takes 10 to 12 weeks.

The State Department announced the policy change a day after officials offered a new estimate of the burgeoning cost of processing the mountain of passport applications. It will cost nearly $1 billion over three years to handle the surge in applications created by post-9/11 security rules for travel.

Because of the backlog, officials said they will no longer offer assurances that an expedited application will be processed within three business days of receipt.

Instead, customers will have to check the State Department Web site to see how fast "expedited" is.

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/5060078.html

[Dr.Phool]

1. So "expidited service" is now "extradited service"?