Mansfield Post Office to Hold Passport Fair, January 10

MANSFIELD, TX — For the convenience of local residents planning a trip out of the country, the Mansfield Post Office, 752 N Main St., will hold a passport fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 10.

Passport regulations now require a valid passport for U.S. Citizens traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda.  “Customers need to prepare in advance,” said Postmaster Shelle Mondon.  “Routine passport processing takes four weeks.  The Postal Service wants to help customers receive their passport in plenty of time for their trip.”

To obtain a passport customers need to:

• Bring in proper proof of American citizenship. This must be either a certified birth certificate issued by the city, county or state; a previous U.S. passport; a certificate of citizenship; or a naturalization certificate. (Please note: a hospital-issued birth certificate alone is not acceptable.)
• Bring in proof of identity.  This must be either: a recently issued U.S. passport; a recently issued naturalization certificate; a recently issued certificate of citizenship; or a current valid driver’s license, government ID or military photo ID.
• The passport application requires two recent identical passport photographs of you (2" x 2" in size), which the Mansfield Main Post Office can provide for $15.
• To save time, customers may download a passport application at www.usps.com/passport to complete beforehand.
• All applicants must appear in person (including minors).
• Minors under the age of 16 must appear with both parents.  If one parent is not available, a notarized authorization from the absent parent is required.  When renewing a passport for minors under the age of 16, they must bring the old passport and a valid birth certificate.

Each passport for an adult must be accompanied by a check or money order for $75 made payable to the U.S. State Department and a $25 execution fee made payable to Postmaster.  Fees for children under 16 are $60 and $25. 

“It is important for customers to complete this process well before their trip,” said Mondon.  Customers traveling in less than 6 weeks can request Expedite Service and receive their passport in 2 weeks.  Expedite Service costs an additional $60 plus mail charges to the passport processing center and for return of the new passport.

Customers with Passport Fair questions can call 817-473-2089.

Customers can also call 800-ASK-USPS to get the location of other nearby passport Post Offices and their passport customer service hours, or they can visit the State Department’s web site at www.travel.state.gov.