As a consequence of the new travel regulations that went into effect on June 1, many places in Canada and Mexico that depend on tourism are expecting\u00a0 a slow summer, according to TampaBay.com. The report noted that some Niagara Falls tourists that were surveyed said they would not be back due to the new rules, which require adults to carry passports for land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n
The article also noted that only 20% of Americans have a passport at this time.\u00a0 Why such a low percentage? Part of the reason is cost: a passport book, good for 10 years, is $100.00 for Americans aged 16 and older. That’s only ten dollars a year, but it’s still a significant upfront expense for many Americans. Also, getting a passport can be kind of a hassle-there are a lot of forms to fill out, your passport pictures have to be “just so,” and you have to gather up supporting documents. So, people tend to put off getting a passport until they are sure they will actually need one for travel.<\/p>\n
The problem with putting off getting a passport until the last minute is that passport applications take some time to process. For example, right now, if you apply for a passport with regular processing, it can take approximately 2 months to get your new passport in the mail. If you apply using the government’s expedited service, it can still take at least 3 weeks.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, there is a faster and easier solution to the problem of getting\u00a0 a passport. A private passport expediting company can help you with the paper by providing clear, easy to understand directions. Then, they can hand-deliver your application to the US Department of State. This drastically reduces processing times, so your new passport could be on its way back to you in as little as 24 hours!<\/p>\n