Breaking the Backlog: GAO Calls for Milestones and Funding in State Department’s Passport Reform Plan
In its March 2025 report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlighted the persistent challenges the Department of State faced in processing passport applications during fiscal year 2023. Authored by Tatiana Winger, the report, “Passport Processing: State Department Should Identify Milestones and Resource Needs for Its Plans to Avoid Future Delays” (GAO-25-107164), provides an in-depth audit of what caused the backlog, how the State Department responded, and what must be done to avoid similar disruptions in the future.
In 2023, the State Department experienced passport processing times that far exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Routine applications took over four weeks longer, and expedited applications saw delays of over two weeks. These delays forced many Americans to cancel or postpone travel, with some flying across the country to find an agency that had available appointments. In one striking example, travelers from Maine were reported traveling to Honolulu to secure passport services. According to GAO, the number of applications pending adjudication reached as high as 3.1 million per month during the peak period, compared to only 1 million in the same period in 2019.
The root causes were multifaceted. A hiring freeze dating back to 2017 hampered staffing, and pandemic-era attrition further depleted the workforce. Although the Department attempted to ramp up hiring, onboarding delays, especially for experienced staff, meant new hires were not yet fully productive. Additionally, the surge in applications—especially expedited ones—far outpaced expectations. State received 21.6 million applications in fiscal year 2023, nearly two million more than projected. Technology woes, particularly with the underperforming Online Passport Renewal (OPR) system, further complicated processing. Specialists required significantly more time to process digital applications than traditional paper ones, and outages in key databases frequently interrupted workflow.
To stem the tide of backlogs, the State Department instituted emergency measures including mandatory overtime (over 250,000 hours logged in 2023 alone), an “all-hands-on-deck” approach that pulled managers and headquarters staff into direct processing roles, and policy tweaks allowing adjudicators more discretion on requirements like photo age and notation standards. While these short-term measures helped return processing times to near pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023, GAO warns they are not sustainable without systemic change.
The State Department’s response to these challenges is embodied in its "Transformation Roadmap"—an ambitious long-term modernization effort comprised of more than 80 projects aimed at improving IT systems, opening six new passport agencies, enhancing staff incentives, and even exploring the concept of digital passports. However, as GAO points out, only 24 of these projects currently have defined milestones. The lack of benchmarks for the remaining projects hinders the ability to track progress or make timely course corrections.
Even more troubling, the Department has yet to determine the full resource requirements—especially staffing and funding—necessary to complete the roadmap. GAO emphasized that the Department’s reliance on consular fees and the uncertain status of continued congressional expenditure authority puts its plans at risk. Without reliable cost estimates and a clear funding strategy, the roadmap’s success remains uncertain.
GAO made two key recommendations: that the State Department define milestones for all projects in the roadmap and determine the resources required to implement them. The Department agreed with both recommendations and stated that efforts are underway to address them. As the demand for international travel continues to rise, timely and efficient passport processing will remain a vital service. GAO’s report serves as a critical reminder that long-term success depends on planning, investment, and transparency.
This blog post is a summary of GAO Report GAO-25-107164 and is not guaranteed to be accurate. It is not intended to provide legal advice.
