Getting a new passport in time for international trips is costing many travelers across the country time and money

"I'm on the way to Australia. And the delay really put me in a financial bind in a way because I had to spend probably about $1,000 to fly up here yesterday. I spent about 12 hours en route. It looks like I'm going to be about midnight before I get home tonight," Arkansas resident Teresa Harper told Spectrum News Wednesday outside the Washington Passport Agency. 

Harper is planning to head to Australia on Monday but lost her passport, telling Spectrum News it took her two months to get an appointment to replace it. 

The State Department has less than thirty passport agencies and centers for urgent travel services nationwide. Harper says she could not get an appointment at the one in Arkansas, so she had to travel to Washington.  

"It's in Hot Springs, which is about a 45 minute drive, but all of them are backed up," said Harper. "I checked from Nevada, Los Angeles and Chicago. I couldn't get an appointment. This was the closest that I could actually find an appointment. So $900 later for a flight, I'm here." 

Harper is just one of many with passport woes. Taylor Springsteen from Virginia applied for his passport in March for a planned trip to Brazil on Thursday. 

"I tried to walk in, and you can't get past security unless you have set up an appointment with the confirmation code and all that, so I couldn't even get in. I tried calling again, but I couldn't even get someone to answer," he said. 

Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio of Florida joined with other Republicans in a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken last month, saying, "Since Jan. 2023, our offices have observed a massive increase in passport-related inquiries from our constituents."

A State Department spokesperson said they don't comment on such letters. But the agency acknowledges it is seeing a record number of passport applications as more Americans travel internationally after many put off plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even though the current processing time for regular applications is 10-13 weeks, they say people should apply at least six months before taking an international trip. People who have yet to get their passport within 14 days of their international trip are urged to call the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778 for an appointment, but availability isn't guaranteed. 

"We have called the passport agency for the last week and have been on hold for hours upon hours," Springsteen said. "And we also have reached out to a congressman to reach out to the agency and try to get us a last-minute appointment, and nothing's been successful."

Florida's only passport agency is in Miami. Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost has been calling for the creation of another one in Orlando and for the Miami location to hold weekend hours. 

At a recent town hall, he said that following his request, the Miami Passport Agency will begin offering Saturday appointments once a month.