Utah leaders ask for SLC passport office as demand grows

Utah’s congressional delegation despatched a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week calling for a passport company in Salt Lake Metropolis amid “unprecedented” demand.

The massive image: The State Division suggested vacationers final month to resume their passports forward of what’s anticipated to be the “busiest summer time journey season on report.”

• Processing has been delayed since March 24, with a 10- to 13-week estimated turnaround for routine purposes and 7 to 9 weeks for expedited requests, per the State Division.

Zoom in: After submitting paperwork to acquire a passport for his father, Draper resident Kent Ma informed Axios he fears the holdup may stop them from touring to Vietnam in August.

• “That is in all probability going to push the journey,” he stated.

Between the traces: The closest passport companies are in California and Colorado, a State Division map reveals.

What they’re saying: “Over the previous a number of weeks, residents of Utah have seen passport processing grind to a close to halt, drastically disrupting journey plans and different points of each day life in our state,” the letter reads.

State of play: Within the letter, lawmakers stated their places of work are struggling to deal with the immense quantity of emergency requests to course of passports resulting from delays.

• Final 12 months, the U.S. Senate handed a protection invoice that would open the door for a passport company in Utah.
• The laws prices the secretary of state to establish areas within the U.S. which have excessive demand for passport processing however no fast or simple approach to do it in individual, in accordance with the invoice.