(CNN) –– Americans who delay planning to travel abroad now have a little more wiggle room than before.
The State Department announced this Thursday that the usual processing time for US passports was reduced to between four and six weeks. Previously, the delay was between six and eight weeks.
The reduced deadline is another relief after a huge delay during the pandemic that resulted in wait times of up to 18 weeks during the summer of 2021.
That updated processing time of four to six weeks applies to applications submitted both on paper and online, the State Department said in its notice.
And what happens if you are really on time to process your passport? For people who need urgent service, the process takes between two and three weeks.
But none of these options consider the time that the precious document remains in the mail.
“These processing times begin when the Department of State receives an application and do not include mailing times,” the State Department said in its notice.
In mid-September, the State Department launched a service that allows Americans to renew their passports through an online process. That service is open to adults renewing a regular 10-year passport that has expired in the last five years or is set to expire next year.
Learn more about how to apply for or renew a U.S. passport by clicking on the US Department of State website
A US passport can open many doors for travel.
The Henley Passport Index, created by Henley & Partners, a London-based global citizenship and residency advisory firm, publishes annual rankings of the world’s most powerful passports. According to their analysis, the Singapore passport is the most powerful by 2024 and the United States is in the Top 10.
–– CNN’s Forrest Brown contributed to this article.
