I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9398 

To prioritize the processing of United States passport applications submitted 

at in-person appointments at passport agencies or through the mail, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 23, 2024 

Ms. CARAVEO (for herself and Mr. CARTER of Georgia) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To prioritize the processing of United States passport applications submitted at in-person appointments at passport 

agencies or through the mail, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Passport Processing 

5 Efficiency Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PRIORITY OF PROCESSING OF PASSPORT APPLICA2 TIONS AT IN-PERSON APPOINTMENTS AT 

3 PASSPORT AGENCIES AND THROUGH THE 

4 MAIL. 

5 The Secretary of State shall prioritize the processing 

6 of United States passport applications submitted by indi7 viduals at in-person appointments at passport agencies or 

8 through the mail over applications transmitted by third9 party passport couriers. 

10 SEC. 3. REPORTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

12 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

13 the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on 

14 Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 

15 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

16 that includes— 

17 (1) data illustrating the allocations of slots to 

18 third-party couriers by each passport agency on a 

19 yearly basis, disaggregated by passport agency; 

20 (2) data illustrating the changes made to the 

21 number of such allocations of slots to third-party 

22 couriers by each passport agency, disaggregated by 

23 passport agency, during the reporting period; and 

24 (3) an explanation detailing how the Depart25 ment of State decided on the allocation of slots to 


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1 third-party couriers and any adjustments thereto 

2 during the reporting period. 

3 (b) REPORT RELATING TO CITATIONS.—Not later 

4 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

5 and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State shall sub6 mit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 

7 and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

8 Representatives a report that includes— 

9 (1) all citations against third-party passport 

10 couriers by each passport agency; and 

11 (2) for each citation listed under paragraph (1), 

12 a description of the penalty imposed against the cou13 rier involved and a notation indicating the passport 

14 agency that issued the citation and the penalty. 

15 (c) CITATION DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

16 ‘‘citation’’ means any violation of the Department of 

17 State’s National Hand-Carry Procedures for Passport Ap18 plications and Completed Passports, or any regulations or 

19 other measures related to or succeeding these procedures, 

20 recorded by a passport agency. 

21 SEC. 4. WEBSITE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall pub23 lish and maintain on the Department of State’s website 

24 a section for individuals to submit complaints against 


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1 third-party couriers and an aggregated summary of such 

2 complaints. 

3 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The aggregated 

4 summary required by subsection (a) shall include— 

5 (1) the most frequent and the most severe com6 plaints submitted pursuant to such subsection; and 

7 (2) a description of steps the Department of 

8 State has taken, is taking, or intends to take to re9 mediate such complaints. 

10 SEC. 5. THIRD-PARTY PASSPORT COURIERS AND THIRD11 PARTY COURIERS DEFINED. 

12 In this Act, the terms ‘‘third-party passport couriers’’ 

13 and ‘‘third-party couriers’’ mean a private-sector entity 

14 that charges a passport applicant a service fee for hand 

15 delivering his or her passport application to a domestic 

16 United States passport agency and retrieving the com17 pleted passport or related documents on behalf of the ap18 plicant. 

Æ 


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