Winchester Post Office offers Passport Fair

8 a.m. until 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 28

The Winchester Post Office will host a Passport Fair on Saturday, July 28, 2007, from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. This event is part of an effort to make it easy and convenient for customers to apply for passports for travel outside the United States. The Passport Fair will take place in the Post Office lobby.

“There is so much available now on our web site www.usps.com including passport applications,” said Winchester Postmaster Sonja Schuerger. “Almost anything you can do at a Post Office you can do online at USPS.com. You can find Post Office locations and hours, manage mail delivery while traveling, create printing labels and request a free package pickup.”

“We are encouraging everyone that needs or wants a Passport to go to www.usps.com/passport and print a passport application, then bring their appropriate documents to the Winchester Post Office on Saturday, July 28. Of course, we also have passport applications available at the Post Office, too.”

The recent regulation that requires a Passport for airline trips between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda went into effect Jan. 23, 2007. The second phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, to be put into effect in 2008, requires Passports for adults traveling by land or sea to neighboring countries.

To apply for a passport, you’ll need to bring to the Post Office proof of citizenship, a Certified Birth Certificate (with an Official Seal) or a Naturalization Certificate or your most recent passport. You also will need one form of photo identification: a current valid Driver’s License or a State Identification Card. You will also need two identical 2x2 color photos. We offer this photo service at the Winchester Post Office for $15. The Department of State requires payment in the form of a check or money order. (See attached flyer for additional fee information).

The Department of State advises that routine processing time for passports is approximately 10 to 12 weeks. Customers can request Expedited Service, for additional fees, at the time of application. Currently, Expedited passport processing is two to three weeks.

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/news.

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 $73 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.