U.S. passport update

The State Department is telling travelers that passport demand is at a record high, but its posted processing times remain 4 to 6 weeks for routine service and 2 to 3 weeks for expedited service. (travel.state.gov) Those timeframes do not include mailing, which the State Department says can add about two weeks for an application to reach the agency and another two weeks for the finished passport to get back. The department still directs people with travel in less than 14 days to make an appointment at a passport agency or center. (travel.state.gov 1) (travel.state.gov 2) At the same time, the department has opened a formal comment period on a redesign that would replace today’s 26-page and 50-page passport books with one 38-page book. Comments are due by June 22, 2026. (federalregister.gov) The notice says the new format would arrive with the next passport redesign, which the filing describes as an anticipated 2028 rollout for the Series B book. Emergency passports would stay at 12 pages. (federalregister.gov) The department says 92% of applicants now request the 26-page book, while 8% receive the 50-page version, often because larger books are routinely issued to special-issuance and overseas applicants. The agency says a 2024 feasibility study found a single size could reduce production waste and simplify issuance. (govinfo.gov) For Americans overseas, the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt plans an off-site passport event at Ramstein Air Base on May 20, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center food court. The event is aimed at people seeking tourist passports before summer travel. (stripes.com) Stars and Stripes reported that appointments are open for renewals and new tourist passport applications, and that immigration visa staff will also be there to answer questions about family-based immigration to the United States. The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Germany otherwise direct passport applicants to use their regular navigator and appointment system. (stripes.com) (de.usembassy.gov) The practical message for travelers is unchanged: book around the full wait, not just the agency’s processing clock. For the next two months, the policy question is whether a single 38-page book becomes the standard passport Americans carry into the 2028 redesign. (travel.state.gov) (federalregister.gov)