Move reflects the govt's inability to keep up with a surge in passport applications

Jul 4, 2007

WASHINGTON, July 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department ordered about 200 recent hires on Tuesday to report to Louisiana and New Hampshire for two months to help work off a huge backlog of passport applications, officials said.

The move reflects the government's inability to keep up with a surge in passport applications following passage of a 2004 law that requires U.S. citizens flying to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean to carry passports.

Senior officials broke the news at a meeting with the employees, most of whom have worked at the department for less than three years, prompting dismay and disbelief among some.

"Welcome to the army," said one employee, who said some people at the meeting called out "you can't do this to us."

Before leaving the meeting, employees were required to fill out forms giving their names, phone numbers and preference for being assigned to passport processing centers in New Orleans or Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

The workers will be trained for a week before being sent to New Hampshire or Louisiana for eight weeks beginning on July 16, with their travel and living expenses paid by the government, officials said.

They will also get a four-day trip home during their stint at government expense.

Earlier this month the department said there was a backlog of about 500,000 passport applications that had not been dealt with within its 10-week target, potentially threatening the summer vacations of thousands of Americans.

The department has tried to ease the crunch by hiring more workers, asking U.S. diplomats abroad to come home to process passport applications, and relaxing the rules on citizens flying to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean.

Through September, U.S. citizens flying to those areas may travel with government-issued identification and official State Department proof showing they have applied for a passport.

Another wave of passport applications may hit when the administration imposes the passport requirement on citizens traveling to the same countries by sea and land.

The number of U.S. passport applications is expected to rise to nearly 18 million this year from 12.1 million last year and roughly 5 million in 2002, U.S. officials have said.

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