Hold the presses, passport applicants have a bit of reprieve as the onslaught of passport applications has caused a processing backlog. 

The headline is a bit of a mouthful, and there's more. The U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security announced that U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for but not yet received passports can nevertheless temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007. (Whew!) The federal government is making this accommodation for air travel due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand. For more information see links below:

U.S. Citizens with Pending Passport Applications
Temporary Travel Flexibility for U.S. Citizens Air Environment

Some travelers may be eligible for refunds for delays in expedited passport application. Read more about this on our blog.