Acquiring Passport Borders On Absurd

By ELAINE SILVESTRINI The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 3, 2007

TAMPA - Getting a passport can be a trip.

Because of rule changes requiring passports for travelers returning by air from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda, the time it takes to get a passport has grown.

The wait to get a passport used to be four to six weeks. Now, it's more like 10 to 12 weeks, said Bridget Robertson, spokeswoman for the Postal Service in Tampa.

For those who need to apply in person - first-time applicants, children and those who haven't had a passport in 15 years - the line can take hours.

Saul Torres of Tampa took the day off from work Tuesday to apply for passports with his family for a planned trip to Colombia.

"I didn't expect this to be this difficult," Torres said after an hour of waiting.

The line ahead meant the Torres family had about two more hours to go.

"I don't know if we're going to make it because they are so hyper," he said, gesturing toward his children, Sarah, 4, Sebastian, 6, and Sophia, 2.

"I don't want to be upset, but I'm very disappointed with the service," his wife, Rita, said.

Jim Sweat, managing director of travel services for AAA, said the passport crunch has not had a noticeable affect on overall travel.

But those making last-minute bookings without passports will find themselves having to travel domestically, he added.

The situation is "narrowing procrastination," Sweat said.

Postal officials have nearly doubled the number of staff who process passport applications.

Once a month, they have passport fairs on Saturdays to accommodate the burgeoning demand.

Since the federal government instituted the rule change in January - a border security measure mandated by Congress - the demand for passports has put a strain on passport offices nationwide.

Tampa Load 'Unbelievable'

In Tampa, officials processed 18,296 in all of fiscal year 2006, Robertson said. With five months remaining in the current fiscal year that started Oct. 1, 28,203 applications have been processed, she said.

"It's just unbelievable," Robertson said. "I don't think anybody anticipated this demand."

Although passport offices are open until 4, Robertson said officials will process applications only for people who arrive by 3 p.m. But then, employees will stay after hours to process everyone. The office sometimes had to stay open until 10 or 11 p.m., she said.

As Robertson spoke to a reporter outside the airport post office passport application office Tuesday, she was swarmed by weary, frustrated applicants who wanted information about their paperwork and their place in line.

Robertson said the demand and the lines have been steadily increasing since the change went into effect in January.

"We've added staff," she said. "We've trained eight to ten people in the last few months." Now, she said, there are roughly 20 employees in the three Tampa passport offices taking applications. On March 24, she said, they held a "mega passport fair" and processed 801 applications.

Fairs are scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon May 19 at the New Tampa office at 16350 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. and from 7 to 11 a.m. June 9 at the Egypt Shrine Temple Activities Building, 4050 Dana Shores Drive.

The Falkenburg Road office sees applicants by appointment, but Robertson said it takes two to three months to get an appointment.

Those who pay about $100 extra can have their applications expedited. That reduces the wait to three to four weeks, Robertson said. Expedited applications used to take two to three weeks.

Mary Jones of Tampa waited in line for nearly three hours Tuesday before learning she could have mailed in her application. Jones, who is flying to China next year, was disgusted. "They need more clerks," she said.

Not All Need Appear

Not everyone has to appear in person to apply for a passport, Robertson said. Only people who haven't had a passport in more than 15 years, children 16 and younger and first-time applicants need to apply in person, she added.

Robertson said people should make sure they have all the needed paperwork before waiting in line to save themselves the trouble of coming back. Information is available at www.travel.state.gov.

Janet Stevens, managing director of travel services for AAA, said the government Web site has an area where people can look up the application offices near them. Stevens suggested calling the offices to ask about the wait and whether they have appointments.

Stevens said AAA deals with a private visa company in Washington that will, for a fee, expedite applications further by personally walking applications through the government bureaucracy. The fees can be as high as $149, added to $157 charged by the government.

Officials in the Plant City and Wimauma post offices said they see passport applicants by appointment only, with both accepting appointments about two weeks out as of Wednesday.

Gege Pattie, passport clerk in Plant City, urged anyone who can't make it for an appointment to call so she can fit someone else in.

The appointments used to be for 30 minutes, but now are just 15 minutes each, Pattie said. She said applicants used to be able to get appointments a few days away. But the wait has increased. "We're busier than usual," Pattie said. "I just know I have people calling every day wanting appointments for tomorrow."

The situation is only going to get worse, officials said, because next year, land and sea travelers from Mexico, Bermuda, Canada and the Caribbean will need passports.

Sweat said passports are valid for 10 years, so people should get their applications in as early as possible.

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.