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Vendaval -> "U.S. swamped with passport requests" (3/17/2007 12:46:01 AM)
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"U.S. swamped with passport requests"
By ASHLEY M. HEHER, Associated Press Writer
"Passport requests usually shoot up this time of year ahead of the busy spring and summer travel season. But the department has been really swamped since the government in late January started requiring U.S. airline passengers — including children — to show a passport upon their return from Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean.
Passport applications filed between October and March are up 44 percent from the same period a year ago, the department told lawmakers this week. In February alone, applications were up 25 percent.
Because of the glut, it could take 10 weeks instead of the usual six to process routine applications, according to the department. And expedited requests, which cost an extra $60 on top of the normal $97 fee, could take four weeks instead of two."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070317/ap_on_re_us/passport_problems;_ylt=Ai65KYCoLesbukwAwtY2jhJH2ocA
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