Berkeley Springs Post Office hosts Passport Fair

New Passport Card Offers Convenience

BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV — Planning an international getaway in 2008? Then you should make your local Post Office your first stop.

The Berkeley Springs Post Office, 417 N. Washington St., offers passport application service and will host a Passport Fair on Saturday, March 15, 2008 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“The Postal Service has made it much more convenient for customers to travel internationally by increasing the number of offices that process passport applications nationwide,” said Berkeley Springs Postmaster Ronald Davis. “We wanted to celebrate our service and also explain to customers recent changes that were made to the passport process.”

The changes, effective Feb. 1, 2008, include new fees for a passport book and the creation of a new passport card.

The passport card is wallet-size and can only be used for land and sea travel between the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. The card will provide a less expensive, smaller and more convenient alternative to the passport book for those who travel frequently to these destinations by land or by sea. The card is ideal for border crossers, who are now required by the Department of Homeland Security to present documentation showing citizenship and identity when entering the United States at land and sea ports of entry.

For first-time applicants, the passport card will cost $45 for adults and $35 for children under age 16, which includes the execution fee of $25. Adults with fully-valid passports issued within the last 15 years can apply for the card by mail at a cost of $20.

The passport card will be available sometime in the spring of 2008. However, U.S. citizens can apply now for a passport card at one of the Postal Service’s 9,300 Passport Application Acceptance Facilities across the country. Applicants can locate a facility nearest to them by logging onto http://travel.state.gov.

New fees: Adult passport book – $100 ($75 passport fee, $25 execution fee). Child passport book – $85 ($60 passport fee, $25 execution fee).

Davis recommends customers come in as early as possible to apply for their passports — at least two months before their planned departure — to avoid any extra costs involved in expediting their application.

Customers can call (800) ASK-USPS (800-275-8777) or go to www.usps.com/passport to get information on passport application costs and to download a passport application form.