It’s been 10 years since America introduced stricter entry rules, and the U.S. State Department is expecting a spike in passport applications, reports U.S. News.
So, advise cross-border clients to apply early to avoid a backlog millions of Americans’ 10-year passports expire.
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“We expect a huge spike in apps in 2017, about 20 million,” the State Department tweeted April 4.
In 2007, the U.S. government made it mandatory for travellers coming by air from Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean to use a passport. And in 2018, Americans will face stricter identification rules for domestic air travel.
Requests are already increasing, reports U.S. News: there were 14.5 million applications in 2015, and 17 million more are expected to come in this year.
It can take up to six weeks for the government to process a passport request.
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