“We were overwhelmed then, and we are not going to be overwhelmed again,” said Michele Bond, the assistant secretary of state for consular affairs, who oversees passports. She has been on a campaign to cajole Americans into renewing early.

Image Credit... James Nieves/The New York Times

There has also been an uptick, officials said, in first-time applications from Americans in states that have not yet complied with the Real ID Act, which sets stricter standards for driver’s licenses and other identity cards. Many people seem to have a mistaken belief that a deadline is imminent after which they will not be able to present licenses from those states for flights within the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security recently clarified the deadline: Jan. 22, 2018. As of that date, residents of states that still have not complied with Real ID will have to show an alternative, approved form of identification, such as a passport.

For now there is no hurry for travelers in the five states and a territory that have not complied so far — Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Washington and American Samoa — if they are not planning to go abroad. But some are rushing to get passports anyway (travel.state.gov), adding to congestion in the system.

State Department officials say another reason to renew soon is that many countries are now enforcing a requirement for at least six months’ validity on a United States passport. The department has experienced an increase in frantic calls from Americans who were denied entry at foreign airports and borders because their passports had less than six months to go.