8 islands US citizens can visit without a passport, as months-long passport delays drag on
Zen Rial/Getty Images
- American demand for international travel, particularly to Europe, is surging this summer.
- The post-pandemic travel rebound has led to lengthy passport renewal wait times of up to 13 weeks.
- US citizens don't need passports to visit the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, or US Virgin Islands.
Many Americans plan to travel abroad this summer — as long as they can get their passports renewed in time.
Surging demand for international travel has helped fuel a US passport backlog of up to 13 weeks, and the wait could get even worse in the coming months. But for the last minute jet-setters, that doesn't mean you're stuck spending summer vacation at home.
United States citizens can travel to several US territories beyond the 50 states without a passport, including the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands, according to the US government.
That's not the case for other US territories and freely associated states such as American Samoa, Guam (decided on a case-by-case basis), The Federated States of Micronesia, The Republic of the Marshall Islands, and The Republic of Palau.
See photos of eight tropical islands Americans can travel to without getting their passport stamped: