The U.S. State Department says it is grappling with an unprecedented surge in passport demand as international travel resumes, prompting officials to urge Americans to check their passports and renew them in advance if they plan to travel abroad this year. In fiscal year 2022, the State Department issued a record-breaking nearly 22 million passports,…

The United States has condemned the heavy and unjust sentencing of two prominent human rights lawyers in China in a statement issued by the U.S. Department of State on April 11. Rights lawyers Xu Zhiyong, 50, was sentenced to 14 years in prison, and Ding Jiaxi, 55, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and…

Wait times are up for the third time this year as the standard processing time for passport applications will now be 10 to 13 weeks, the State Department announced on March 24. The latest uptick is due to surging international travel demand that has created an unprecedented number of passport applications and renewals. Even expedited…

The State Department said on Feb. 27 that President Joe Biden has repeatedly raised the need for Beijing to address the origins of COVID-19 with Chinese President Xi Jinping, following leaked reports that a lab leak in the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019 is the most likely origin of the global pandemic. According to…

WASHINGTON—The U.S. State Department and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) both issued on Monday their highest warnings against travel to the United Kingdom because of a rising number of COVID-19 cases in that country. Each raised the UK to “Level Four,” telling Americans they should avoid travel there. “If you must…