When the U.S. Congress can't agree on a budget before federal funding expires, the government goes into shutdown mode, ceasing all operations deemed nonessential and furloughing hundreds of thousands of federal workers. As you might have noticed, several key aspects of travel in the United States are overseen by the federal government, including airport security,…
In the first half of 2021, the United States State Department had an epic backlog of 2 million passport applications. As the Biden Administration began, the wait time for a new passport—18 weeks, or more than 4 months—was so crazy that the U.S. government had to warn that "U.S. citizens who wish to travel overseas this…
Many passport rankings focus on one factor: visa-free travel. But passport strength is more complex than this, according to the tax and immigration consulting firm Nomad Capitalist. That's why it produces a weighted annual index that analyzes five criteria: Visa-free travel — 50% Taxation — 20% Global perception —10% Ability to hold dual citizenship —…