Passport wait times are up again. Don't let them spoil a trip.

If you're traveling internationally this summer, don't procrastinate on getting your passport in order. According to the State Department, application wait times have crept back up. 

Last month, the State Department's official estimates to process a routine passport application were six to nine weeks, and three to five weeks for expedited applications. Now, estimates for routine passport processing can take eight to 11 weeks, and expedited processing may take five to seven.  The clock starts when the office gets your application, not when you drop it in the mail.

This time, the pandemic isn't to blame for longer waits.

As is the case with the rising cost of airfare, the latest uptick is due to a surge of interest in going abroad, "especially as we approach the busy season for spring and summer travel," a representative for the department said in an email, adding that it's normal for wait times to fluctuate throughout the year according to demand.

The agency also temporarily suspended its new online passport renewal program on Feb. 7 after testing it for about a year. Its official launch is targeted for later in 2023.

Andy Anderson, founder of Passportwaitingtime.com — a website that estimates current wait times by crowdsourcing feedback from recent passport applicants — says the State Department must be expecting more applications, which would explain the updated guidelines to manage expectations.

"Some people are getting them in as little as 10 days," Anderson says. "Then a lady got in contact with me and had waited 42, 43 days."

Adam Demaray is experiencing the delay firsthand.

A professor in Pittsburgh, Demaray and his wife wanted to take a weeklong trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, during his spring break, but his passport was going to expire shortly after their return. While the Mexican government allows passports that are valid through the entirety of a visitor's trip, Demaray didn't want to risk having issues (some countries require your passport to be valid at least six months past your trip).

After applying online Jan. 9, Demaray was given a three- to five-week wait estimate for his expedited passport renewal (a $60 extra fee) and felt safe booking the vacation about eight weeks away.

Five weeks came and went, and Demaray was still waiting for his delivery.

He checked the State Department website and saw their updated wait times. After a few calls and hours on hold, Demaray was told there was nothing the office could do — but he could drive to D.C. or Philadelphia to rush another application if he didn't get his passport within five days of his trip.

Seven weeks later, with his Mexico trip just around the corner, Demaray finally got an email that his passport had shipped — or at least a shipping label had been created — but the document had not actually shipped. Because he also paid an extra fee for shipping via first-class mail (now $19.53), his passport should arrive by Tuesday or Wednesday. Once it does, he's going to apply for a refund for the expediting fee.

Not everyone who deals with passport applications has seen delays. Diana Hechler, president of D. Tours Travel, says it's been quick to renew client passports, and she has been able to get last-minute appointments at passport offices, even if it's not an emergency situation that falls under the State Department's life-or-death category.

In the meantime, you can consider traveling to destinations where you don't need a passport.