backlog has surged to about 2.2 million as a security procedure’s "operational issues" add several weeks to wait times, according to Sen.
James Lankford, R-Okla.A State Department official tells Fox there are currently approximately 2,170,000 passport applications pending adjudication.When the government receives a passport application, the file enters a "lockbox" and is given a secure number – a process that usually takes 24 hours and is now delaying applications up to six weeks, said Lankford in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.