Originally Posted by GUWonder

Some new passport applications have been processed and resulted in passports being issued even before the backlog has been cleared, despite whatever a USG website says.

The passport application backlogs won’t necessarily be run down entirely for quite some time this year, even within the next 8 weeks; nor will the backlog be necessarily reducing for each and every day/week change. It’s not going to be a perfectly smooth linear decline.

At some point again this year, passport applicants in the US will again have the option to pay for expedited service. If you can wait until September/October for in-person application and go for paid expedited service or apply outside of the US to get free expedited service, then that is what I would suggest doing.

I am with hfly’s suggestion to try to avoid submitting passport applications in the US via mail at this point if you can help it — and try to avoid it even more so if you don’t have enough documents retained to make an emergency/expedited application later this year if an application submitted now/earlier gets bungled.

Tracking numbers on mail/packages for passport applicants don’t always work (or get used) perfectly even in more normal times for US passport applicants, and nowadays process failures related to applications are likely to be substantially higher than typical including with regard to mail/courier and tracking numbers for such.

The backlog has been growing in parts even while there has been phased-in “openings”. And on top of the usual demand and that related to the 9/11+WHTI driven demand, there is also the on-year election-related demand for US passports.