Updates might help your travel abroad decision

The U.S. State Department on Aug. 6 relaxed its pandemic warnings about international travel, which means more Americans may be thinking about big trips.

Certainly, more people are boarding planes. Government tallies show that 831,789 travelers went through TSA airport checkpoints Aug. 9, far below last year's numbers, but the highest total since March 17.

For those planning international vacations, there are at least two big questions to consider:

1. Your passport?

If you need a new or renewed passport, it's difficult to predict when you might receive it. Though the State Department has chipped away at its backlog of passport applications, it still has a long way to go and a reduced workforce at its passport offices nationwide.

The agency says its main priority now is processing passport requests for lifeor-death emergencies, and it won't estimate how long it will take to process conventional requests, whether new or in the pipeline.

The State Department updates its passport-backlog statistics every Thursday. On Thursday, officials reported that they'd issued 213,000 passports in the previous week and received 139,000 applications. That left the agency's backlog at 1.06 million, a number that officials say is not uncommon for the busiest weeks in a normal year.

The State Department's passport pages include details on contact information, which offices are open, how the process works, how you may be able to get a status update and why the agency continues to cash checks promptly while running behind in its other tasks.

The short answer: Government workers can process your payments while working from home, but can handle secure documents such as birth certificates only in a government office. And most of those remain at reduced capacities.

2. Your destination?

The State Department on Thursday did back off its warnings (in place since March) that Americans should avoid all international travel. The move follows major advances made by many nations in reducing COVID-19 cases and deaths.

However, as a spokesperson said, health and safety conditions are "improving in some countries and potentially deteriorating in others." Also, many countries are wary of American visitors because U.S. infection and death totals are higher than everyone else's.

The European Union decided recently to keep the U.S. on its list of countries whose travelers are most stringently restricted. The United Kingdom continues to require a 14-day quarantine.

Meanwhile, State Department officials urge would-be travelers to check out the department's updated country-bycountry risk-level rankings of 1 to 4: One for "exercise normal precautions" to 4 for "do not travel."

Mexico has a 4 ranking ("do not travel"), and Canada has a 3 ranking ("reconsider travel"). But Canada also forbids Americans from making nonessential visits north of our border.