Passport rush

I read this in the Arizona Republic. I am interested in seeing how things are going to change when passports are required to travel to Canada and Mexico. Better get your passports soon....I have a feeling things might be backed up for quite some time.

Passport rush for holidays expected
If you want to go abroad for the holidays, better apply now
Sean Holstege
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 20, 2007 12:00 AM

Planning to travel abroad for the holidays? Then you better apply for necessary travel documents by the end of the month, immigration officials say.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service anticipates an unusually high volume of travel-document applications as the end-of-the year holiday season approaches. Citizens must have passports, and people in the United States awaiting citizenship must have permission to re-enter if they return to their home country.

Green-card holders do not need travel documents.

At the end of January, U.S. citizens will need proof of citizenship and identity before they can return to the country at a border crossing. Typically, they enter the United States with a verbal declaration, but Congress tightened procedures in response to recommendations by the 9/11 Commission.

By mid-2008, the government expects to start requiring passports to travel in the Western Hemisphere. The requirement was delayed because of a backlog in processing passports. The State Department says it now takes four to six weeks to process a passport application. Each month, the government receives an average of 14,000 travel-document applications.