How Long Does It Take To Get A US Passport (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 5 To 6 Weeks

Depending on these steps, the time it takes to get a US passport varies. If one follows the steps faster and with no errors, there is quite a big probability that he or she may get a US passport in very little time.

How Long Does It Take To Get A US Passport?

The very first step to getting a US passport is to fill the form. Anyone can download the passport from the government website of the United States of America and then get a printout of it. Once printed, the concerned person who wants to have a passport is supposed to fill that form. The form majorly asks for details about you and your background.

Generally, the information that is required to fill in the form are, basic biographical information, social security number, email address and the phone number of the concerned person, address information, information regarding any previous name changes, parental information, marital history, occupation, or employer information if applicable, school information if applicable, travel plans if applicable and lastly the emergency contact information. Downloading the form from the US government site and filling it does not take anymore than 2 to 3 days.

The next step is to submit the required documents to get a US passport. Although submitting the documents does not take more than a day, verifying those documents can take about 1 to 2 weeks.

The next step is to get a passport size photograph to be applied to the US passport. Verification of the photograph can take another 1 week.

The last step is to pay the fees to get a US passport. The nominal amount for getting a passport in the US is $145. Once this fee is paid, all the steps are completed and the passport is ready to be made. Once the passport is ready, it is delivered to its designated addressee to the concerned person. This step takes another 2 to 3 weeks to get completed.

Why Does It Take That Long To Get A US Passport?

The major reason why it takes that long to get a US passport is that it takes quite a long time and precision to verify the documents submitted by the candidates to get a US passport. Moreover, if the verification is failed and there is some error found, the candidate is supposed to redo the process again. Therefore, it becomes extremely important to stick to the rules and guidelines while following the steps and try to make the process as error-free as possible.

The candidate must be ready with the required documents after filling the form. The required documents to get a US passport include U.S. Citizenship proof, identification proof, and lastly the photographs. For the US citizenship proof, one can submit any of the following documents, U.S. birth certificate, consular report of birth abroad, naturalization certificate, citizenship certificate, hospital birth certificate, baptism certificate, census records, school records, or medical records of postnatal care.

For identification proof, one can submit any of the following documents as, State-issued driver’s license, certificate of naturalization or citizenship, government employee ID, U.S. military ID, a valid current foreign passport, green card, state-issued non-driver ID, learner’s or temporary state-issued ID, social security card, student ID, work ID, draft card, voter registration card or an expired driver’s license.

Conclusion

For the photographs, there are some important guidelines laid by the government which must be followed to get the photographs verified for the passport. The major technical rules for getting a photo verified is that the photos should be printed on matte or glossy photo paper, measured 2 inches by 2 inches, the person’s head must cover 1 to 1 3/8 inches of the frame and be centered and the photographs should not be digitally altered.

References

1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09502380802016253
2. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/4143504/