A nationwide outage is impacting U.S. passport verification, according to Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.
Giannoulias wrote on X, formerly Twitter, just after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday that "due to a nationwide outage, U.S. passport verification is currently unavailable."
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WATCH HEREFurther details on how this was impacting travelers or residents remained unclear, but U.S. passports have been advertised as an alternative form of identification for those without a Real ID who are traveling domestically.
"We are actively monitoring the situation and will provide updates as they become available," Giannoulias said.
He urged anyone planning to visit a DMV in Illinois Wednesday to call (800) 252-8980 before going because "services or hours may be impacted."
⚠️ NOTICE: Due to a nationwide outage, U.S. passport verification is currently unavailable. We are actively monitoring the situation and will provide updates as they become available.
— Secretary Alexi Giannoulias (@ILSecOfState) May 14, 2025
Please call 800-252-8980 before visiting our DMVs as services or hours may be impacted. pic.twitter.com/qmGzjbrH4Q
As of 11 a.m., a spokesperson for the secretary of state's office said they "activated a process" that enabled them to process U.S. passports and immigration documents at DMVs in Illinois.
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"We are not experiencing any delays at our DMVs as a result," the spokesperson said.
Check back for details on this developing story.
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