US Government Shuts Down Passport Applications Site

pptform.state.gov

29 pointsbelter5 comments

Also a challenge for us citizens living abroad who need to keep their passports valid

The forms are still available: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-app...

Looks like this affects the online form filler. But there was never any online renewal - the form filler just filled out a pdf with what you gave it that you then needed to print and mail anyhow while also jumping through any hoops your local consulate (who does the processing) also requires.

For those stateside you can still do this in a local office apparently. Not ideal but its not as if passport issuance has been suspended. The site is under maintenance to remove modifications made for more than 2 genders according to a quick search. Medicaid payment's were down for a few days last week too. Not ideal by any means but far from world ending.

If you try to play something down always ask yourself „Was it necessary?“. Was it necessary to shutdown these systems down to change some gender selections?

Do Google and Facebook take down their websites for a few days when they want to deploy a change?

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