Passport wait times continue to drop, with the latest estimate at 8 to 11 weeks

When Alyssa Mangano submitted her passport application in early May, she thought she'd get the document with plenty of time to spare before her November trip to Mexico. The vacation was nearly 26 weeks away, after all.

"I was hearing that passports were taking a while," the Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania, resident told USA TODAY. "I wanted to be proactive and get it in as soon as possible."

Nonexpedited passport wait times spiked over the summer to 18 weeks because of high travel demand, staff shortages and delays within the U.S. Postal Service. That should have given Mangano plenty of time, but she started to get concerned when the 18-week mark passed and the State Department's website had not updated her status.

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Mangano sent Twitter messages to the department and spent hours trying to get through their phone lines. A representative eventually was able to tell her that the passport was being processed in New Orleans, an office that closed briefly after Hurricane Ida hit town.

Around the 20-week mark, she began planning ways to get her trip refunded.

"It was very frustrating," she said. "I just wanted to know that they had it and it's not lost."

It wasn't until Oct. 6 – about five months after she initially submitted the paperwork – that Mangano said her passport arrived in the mail.

"I tried to be proactive," she said. "(I’ve been telling people) if anybody needs a password, even if it's not until next year, just do it now."

While Mangano waited longer than most, many U.S. travelers have been struggling to get passports turned around quickly this year. But wait times are beginning to drop. Now that the peak summer travel season is over, the average nonexpedited wait time is down to eight to 11weeks, according to a Friday statement from the State Department.

The new processing time estimate no longer includes mailing time, as previous pandemic-era estimates did. Instead, the agency will once again refer to "processing time" as the timeline that begins when a passport agency or center receives the application.

"We are no longer using door-to-door timeframes to calculate our estimated routine and expedited service times. Mail times vary across the country," the State Department said. "Please plan ahead and apply early."

Processing times can be reduced further to five to seven weeks through expedited processing, which costs an additional $60.

Here's what else you should know if you're applying for a passport.

► Itching for an international trip?: Be prepared to wait up to 18 weeks for a passport

► 'You can't get through': Passport appointments turn scarce as offices become overwhelmed

How long does will it take to get a passport?

As of Friday, wait times for new routine passport applications and renewals dropped to eight to 11 weeks. Before the pandemic, wait times were listed as six to eight weeks.

Travelers can cut the wait time down to five to seven weeks if they spend an additional $60 for expedited service.

Can I set up an appointment online?

Last-minute appointments remain limited and are often reserved for travelers who are in a life-or-death emergency or have urgent travel needs.

As of July, it’s no longer possible to book an appointment at a passport agency or center online.

Travelers who need to schedule an appointment within 72 hours of an urgent trip can call the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778 from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.

► Passport wait times: State Department removes option to book last-minute passport appointments online

► Passport appointments are scarce: There's a black market selling them online for hundreds

How long are wait times if I want to call a passport office?

The State Department's call center has been experiencing higher-than-usual volumes, but wait times have "dropped significantly," according to an emailed statement from the State Department on Oct. 7.

Mondays can have particularly long wait times, as well as when a contact center first opens and the days after holidays.

While the majority of calls are from travelers inquiring about their application status, a State Department official said representatives will not provide status updates because they are focused on life-or-death emergency appointments and upgrades to expedited service. Travelers who want to learn their application’s status are asked to visit https://passportstatus.state.gov.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter: @bailey_schulz.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Passport application wait times have dropped to 8 to 11 weeks