Lineups that are much longer than usual are continuing at Passport Canada offices, three months after tougher U.S. border rules took effect.

As of Jan. 23, the United States started requiring passports for Canadians using planes to travel south of the border.

For those waiting to be processed in downtown Vancouver on Thursday, the headaches were obvious, with about 500 people lining up on the sidewalk outside of the office.

"It's crazy ... disrespectful of the public," said one man who had joined the lineup in Vancouver at 5:45 a.m., only to find there were already 300 people ahead of him. He told CBC Radio he expected to wait all day.

There was an unconfirmed report that the first person in line showed up at 3:30 a.m.

The number of passport applications has risen sharply, by as much as 33 per cent over normal levels, since the U.S. border requirements changed.

While the agency says it's hiring more workers, demand for passports is expected to remain strong for years to come.

With the U.S. rules extending to land travel next year, it doesn't appear likely things will improve. 

Passport Canada spokesman Fabien Lengelle said he expects demand to ease a bit this summer before increasing again later in the year.

Normally, a passport arrives 10 business days after the application is made in person or 20 days by mail, but the continuing rush has slowed operations considerably.

Passport Canada's website is warning it may take up to 10 weeks before travellers receive a new passport. Americans needing passports to go to Mexico or Canada face a similar wait time.

Fabien offered this advice: don't buy a plane ticket until you've got a passport in hand.