Saturday Passport Fair to be held at the Florence Post Office

A European vacation, a school trip to the far east, a trip to Canada, or just a vague idea of possibilities-all are reasons area residents should consider stopping by the Postal Service sponsored passport fair being held 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., Saturday, November 17, at the Florence Post Office, 1901 W. Evans St. 29501. Everything needed to apply for a passport — including photo services — will be provided. Translation for Spanish-speaking customers will be provided. For further information on passports from the Department of State, log on to http://travel.state.gov/passport.

People traveling by air or sea to popular American vacation destinations like the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada now need a passport. Drivers crossing at land borders may need passports by January 1, 2008.

"The new rules are part of a package of laws called the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative," said Postmaster Edith Bradshaw. "The laws were passed by Congress in 2005 to make it harder for terrorists to get into the United States. This also makes it necessary for U.S. citizens to have a passport to get back into the United States."

"Bottom line, if you plan on traveling outside the United States, you need a passport-even on a cruise," said Bradshaw. "An adult passport is good for ten years, so if you plan on traveling in the future and want to eliminate any sort of concern or uncertainty, get a passport now."

Normally, it costs $97 for adults (16 years and older), with separate payments of $67 paid to the State Department for the passport application fee and $30 to the Postal Service for its processing fee. For persons under 16, the cost is $82, with separate payments of $52 and $30 respectively. Two identical photos of each applicant are required, which the Post Office can take care of for a fee. For expedited passport service, add $60 for each application.

Other tips include:

Bring in proper proof of American citizenship or naturalization. This must be either: a state-issued certified birth certificate; a previous official passport; or a naturalization certificate, if you are foreign-born. (Please note: a hospital-issued birth certificate is not acceptable.)
Bring in one officially-acceptable state or government photo ID. This can be either a driver's license, a military photo ID, or a state-issued photo ID. Workplace IDs and regular photos are generally not acceptable.
The passport application requires two recent identical photographs. The photos must meet specific passport requirements which are explained at http://travel.state.gov/passport.
To save time, download passport application documents at www.usps.com/passport and fill out beforehand. However, don't sign the application form, as the passport acceptance clerk must witness the signing.
For children under age 14, both parents' consent and proof of parental relationship are required. See Special Requirements for children under age 14 at http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/minors/minors_834.html for details.

All applications are sent to the U.S. State Department for final processing and approval. Provided everything goes smoothly, you can have your official passport mailed back to you, with plenty of time to prepare for your trip abroad.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation, 146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.