Implemented the first-ever online passport renewal system, eliminating an outdated, paper-heavy process and dramatically reduced wait times for millions of Americans.
For decades, renewing a passport was a time-consuming and paper-heavy process, requiring Americans to navigate multiple bureaucratic hurdles in a system that had been largely unchanged since the 1970s.
The State Department made unsuccessful attempts over many years to modernize the passport renewal process before Luis Coronado, chief information officer for the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, and Matthew Pierce, then the managing director for passport services, stepped in to take on the challenge.
Inspired in part by the ease and simplicity of commonly used technology that allows consumers to track food and package deliveries, Coronado and Pierce organized a team to simplify the process and bring it online.
“Luis and Matt led the transformation of a seriously outdated government service into a leading government service that’s oriented around the customer,” said Robert Thomas, principal deputy assistant secretary of consular affairs at the State Department.
Rena Bitter, assistant secretary of the Bureau of Consular Affairs, noted that when the old system was created in the 1970s, the bureau was processing about 3 million passports a year. By 2023, that figure was up to more than 23 million and applicants were facing months-long waits to get their passports. It was clear the system could not keep up.
When online passport renewal launched in September 2024, it quickly and dramatically reduced wait times. As of May 2025, over 2 million Americans had successfully renewed their passports using the online service.
“Online passport renewal was the most significant leap forward in federal customer service I had the privilege of overseeing during my time in office,” said former Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“It’s the most significant innovation in passports in 50 years,” said Bitter.
Thomas noted that in surveys administered by the bureau, 97% of respondents gave the new system a positive review, and 80% said their positive experience with online passport renewal increased their trust in government.
Outdated technology was a hurdle, but as Hugo Rodriguez, a senior advisor to the bureau, noted, perhaps the biggest challenge was overcoming internal skepticism, borne out of past failures to update the system and institutional rigidity.
“We couldn’t allow past challenges with modernizing to hold us back,” said Pierce. “Now, seeing that this works has opened up possibilities for online services in other areas.”
Specifically, visa applications and citizen services are seen as potential future areas for online tools. More updates are coming to the online passport renewal system as well, including a version optimized for mobile browsers.
“I’m proud that this system gets us closer to what we as customers expect,” Coronado said.