No Way Out

Summer vacation season is beginning, but for many, the long-awaited trip abroad instead has become a nightmare filled with stress, anxiety and for too many -- dashed hopes.

One of our office assistants has been planning a trip to Ireland with her family for almost a year and the scheduled trip is less than 2 weeks away. One problem -- no passports, even though they applied months ago.

Their story sounds a lot like that of Brian Tamanaha of Balkinization, Travelers Beware: Or Be Caught in a Bureaucratic Nightmare:

On April 4th, my wife and I went to the post office with all the documents required to renew our seven-year-old son’s passport. After waiting only an hour and a half in line, the courteous clerk efficiently handled the paperwork and assured us that we would receive the passport by mail within eight weeks.

That was almost three months ago. My wife is taking the kids to visit her family abroad. The departure date is this Sunday, July 1. We have paid for non-refundable tickets in the amount of $2,400. Everyone is excited, especially her parents, who see their grandchildren only once a year.

The only problem is that the passport has not arrived.

It seems that the Bush Administration has found the full proof security safeguard. Don't let anyone out of the country, so it will cut down on the influx of travelers to the US. We are perfectly safe from ourselves.

The Philadelphia Inquirer recently wrote about the situation, in The wait for a passport: A bad trip for travelers:

In February, it required patience, planning and, often, the right alignment of the planets to get a passport in time for a trip abroad.

Now it practically requires a miracle.

The long, short-tempered lines at Philadelphia's U.S. Passport Agency at Chestnut and Second Streets start forming at 5 a.m. and wind around the corner, at times stretching two city blocks. At 9 a.m., when the office opens, federal marshals escort the hopeful into the building in groups of 15.

Among the hundreds of would-be travelers who queue up every day, there are usually a few who already have had to miss their trip, though they applied months ago in what they were told was plenty of time.

* * * *

The State Department has been hammered with criticism for underestimating the response to the new travel regulations, which were put in place as part of a congressional mandate for increased security after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Officials had planned for a significant increase in applications, but the numbers far exceeded expectations. The Philadelphia Passport Agency has been particularly busy, since it is one of 14 centers in the nation, and one of the few on the East Coast, where citizens may appear in person to obtain passports and receive one that day. People regularly come from New York and as far away as Ohio to stand in line.

The stories of agonizing attempts to deal with the passport offices, frustrated by confusing, inconsistent information provided and finally, missed trips (along with the financial loss of non-refundable tickets and other reservations) is just yet another example of the failure of our government to function at even the most basic level.

As MSNBC's The Red Tape Chronicles says, Passport problems trap citizens in U.S.:

With so much fighting going on about people who want to get into the country, we didn't realize how hard it is to get out. Chaos at the U.S. Passport office has left thousands of travelers stranded stateside, many of them holding useless airplane and cruise tickets -- a situation one critic calls 'reverse Ellis Island.'

By stranding travelers . . . the State Department has shown it cannot handle the demands of increased security. After all, if the office's computers and personnel cannot handle a completely predictable increase in passport applications, how can it be expected to keep out terrorists?

See also, WhirledView for a collection of complaints and suggestions on how to deal with passport problems.

Tags: Travel, passports