Negotiating the tangle of passport-application delays, rules

WASHINGTON — If you've already applied for a U.S. passport because you're flying to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean — areas for which passports weren't required until the U.S. tightened security earlier this year — but haven't received it, you're in luck.

Through the end of September, you can fly to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean without a passport as long as you can present a State Department receipt showing you already applied for one. You must also show government-issued identification, such as a driver's license. (The State Department passport-application receipt is essentially something you print out from the State Department Web site — www.travel.state.gov — that confirms your passport application is being processed.)

But if you're planning such travel and haven't already applied for a passport, you're out of luck. Department of Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said that the easing of the passport rule, which took effect on Friday, would only affect those who have already applied for passports — not those who apply in coming days for travel later this summer.

"Individuals who have not yet applied for a passport should not expect to be accommodated," Knocke said.

The change was announced because of a backlog in processing passport applications in response to new rules implemented last January. Last year, the State Department processed 12.1 million passports. This year, officials expect to process about 18 million.

Turnaround times for passport applications now can exceed three months. The backlog has ruined or delayed the travel plans of thousands of travelers. However, travelers can apply (and pay extra) for expedited processing of passports and get them in several weeks.

Homeland Security has insisted it plans to go ahead with a January 2008 start for requiring passports at all land border crossing in the United States — a security measure that could trigger a new frenzy of applications.

Information

Dept. of State: The State Dept. has information on the new passport rules, processing times, first-time applications and renewals at www.travel.state.gov

For now, though, and until the end of this year, you can still drive across the Canadian or Mexican borders without a passport. You also have until January to cruise to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean without a passport.