Just as September or "National Passport Month is underway, the U.S. State Department has released additional dates for its ongoing passport fairs, making applying for a first time passport even easier. 

The agency published an updated schedule for September and October, which will take place in many states including California, Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

For example, the Seattle Passport Agency will be open on Saturday, Sept. 28 from 9am-2pm, where the office is regularly closed on weekends. Applicants should be advised that appointments are required, and can be booked on the office’s website. 

Other events include the Boston Passport Agency on Sept. 26, Atlanta Passport Agency on September 28, the University of Texas at Dallas on September 28, the Broward County Clerk in Ft. Lauderdale, FL on Oct. 12, and more. 

The agency regularly holds the events, known as Special Passport Acceptance Fairs, at community centers and civic offices throughout the United States, in order to provide extra assistance for applicants. The fairs are often held during the evening and on weekends, which makes it easier for people who have difficulty visiting a traditional passport walk-in center during normal business hours. 

The Passport Fair events are only for people seeking a passport for the first time, and not for renewals or other circumstances. For those looking to renew, the Department of State has launched new online tools to simplify and streamline the renewal process. 

The current processing time for expedited passports is down to just 2-3 weeks, and routine service is set for 6-8 weeks. These are considerably faster than delays that occurred throughout the pandemic when the agency was processing over 500,000 applications per week.