CCHCC Hosts Public Service Passport Fair, Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative expected to cause a rush for passports

Soon passports will be required to and from destinations where once a birth certificate and a driver’s license sufficed. In anticipation of a rush for passports due to the looming deadline, the Fresno Post Office, in conjunction with the Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (CCHCC), is holding a “Passport Fair,” 9:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Saturday, October 21, 2006 at the CCHCC office, 2331 Fresno Street, Suite 114 in Downtown Fresno.

“We are anxious to reach the community, and thanks to the generosity of the Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, an off-sight location has been made available on a Saturday. Our postal personnel are on hand to ease the travel planning and application process, with no appointment necessary,” said Fresno Postmaster Ramona Frankfort. “Normally, it takes six to eight weeks to get a passport, so people can avoid the rush later through our fast, easy and convenient passport fair.”

Customers can call 1-800-ASK-USPS to get the location of nearby passport post offices and passport customer service hours, or visit the United States Postal Service Web site at www.usps.com/passport to get information on passport application costs and to download a passport application form. Customers can save some time by having the application form filled out before coming to the post office.

Frankfort offers the following recommendations to make the application process efficient:

· Customers should plan months ahead in applying for passports – at least two months or earlier before making travel plans. This will avoid possible additional costs involved in expediting applications.

· Bring in proper proof of American citizenship in the form of a previous U.S. passport, a certified birth certificate issued by the city, county or state, a certificate of citizenship, or naturalization certificate. Also bring in a valid form of photo identification, such as a current valid driver’s license, government ID or military photo ID.

· A hospital-issued birth certificate alone is not acceptable.

Passport applications require two recent identical photographs and can be taken at any post office offering passport services for a $15.00 fee (in addition to application fees).

The fee for first time applicants is $97.00 (photo not included). Two payment transactions are required: $67.00 to the Department of State and $30.00 to the United States Postal Service. The fee for a passport renewal is $67.00. Passports will be mailed to the customer in four to six weeks after application.

An expedited 14-day process is available for $185.00 in total fees (not including photos).

Passports are now required for return to the U.S from the Caribbean and Bermuda and beginning in 2008, travel from Mexico and Canada will require a passport.