The U.S. National Passport Center (NPC) in Portsmouth, New Hampshire announced an unscheduled closure for Wednesday, 7 January 2026, citing “operational reasons” on its Spanish-language webpage. The facility processes all expedited passport applications received by overnight courier and serves walk-in applicants with travel in fewer than 14 days.
Customers with same-day appointments were instructed to call the National Passport Information Center for re-routing, but call-centre hold times topped two hours by mid-morning, according to travel-agency reports. With no other New England agency offering walk-in service outside Boston, travellers facing imminent departures were advised to seek appointments in New York or Philadelphia—both already operating at near-capacity.
Although the NPC characterised the closure as a one-day event, insiders told the American Society of Travel Advisors that a floor-wide HVAC failure combined with a regional snowstorm made it impossible to process physical passport books. The shutdown comes as routine passport demand remains high—1.2 million applications were pending nationally as of the last State Department update.
![State Department shuts National Passport Center for one day, delaying urgent issuances]()
For travellers scrambling to re-route their applications, VisaHQ offers an online portal and nationwide courier network that can arrange expedited U.S. passport renewals and visa services without a trip to a government office; full service details are available at https://www.visahq.com/united-states/
For corporate travel managers, the disruption is a reminder to audit employees’ passport validity at least six months before planned travel and to budget extra lead time even for expedited service. Mobility teams with relocating families should consider courier-based hand-carry solutions when timing is critical.
The NPC is expected to reopen Thursday, but applicants whose files were mid-process may face 24- to 48-hour delays. The State Department has not indicated whether it will automatically refund the US$60 expedite fee for affected cases, but historical practice suggests refunds will be available upon request.
Customers with same-day appointments were instructed to call the National Passport Information Center for re-routing, but call-centre hold times topped two hours by mid-morning, according to travel-agency reports. With no other New England agency offering walk-in service outside Boston, travellers facing imminent departures were advised to seek appointments in New York or Philadelphia—both already operating at near-capacity.
Although the NPC characterised the closure as a one-day event, insiders told the American Society of Travel Advisors that a floor-wide HVAC failure combined with a regional snowstorm made it impossible to process physical passport books. The shutdown comes as routine passport demand remains high—1.2 million applications were pending nationally as of the last State Department update.
For travellers scrambling to re-route their applications, VisaHQ offers an online portal and nationwide courier network that can arrange expedited U.S. passport renewals and visa services without a trip to a government office; full service details are available at https://www.visahq.com/united-states/
For corporate travel managers, the disruption is a reminder to audit employees’ passport validity at least six months before planned travel and to budget extra lead time even for expedited service. Mobility teams with relocating families should consider courier-based hand-carry solutions when timing is critical.
The NPC is expected to reopen Thursday, but applicants whose files were mid-process may face 24- to 48-hour delays. The State Department has not indicated whether it will automatically refund the US$60 expedite fee for affected cases, but historical practice suggests refunds will be available upon request.
