First, plan to get your passport!
Will your next vacation or business trip take you outside of the United States? No matter where you go, a U.S. passport will get you back home.

PASSPORT DAY IN THE USA 2011
For passport information, fees, and forms, please visit Travel.State.gov

The Department of State, Passport Services, announces that Saturday, September 17th, is "Passport Day in the USA". Passport Agencies and many acceptance facilities (such as designated Post Offices) across the country will be open to the public on that date to accept applications for passports. The Department of State is utilizing this special event to remind U.S. citizens that they must present a passport book, passport card, or other travel documents approved by the U.S. government to enter the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda at land borders and sea ports of entry. Passport books are required for all international air travel.

Here in New Orleans, passport applications will be accepted on Saturday, September 17th Main Post Office (Lobby) at 701 Loyola Avenue from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm and from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon, Carrollton Post Office 3400 S. Carrollton Avenue New Orleans LA 70118. Appointments are not required.

Also, the New Orleans Passport Agency, located at One Canal Place, 365 Canal Street, Suite 1300, will be open to accept applications on Saturday, September 17th, from 10:00am until 3:00pm. Appointments are not required for this special event. Parking is available for a fee in the Canal Place garage and in nearby lots.

Information on application fees and the required documentation to apply for a passport can be found at travel.state.gov, or by calling the National Passport Information Center toll-free at (877) 487-2778. Current processing times are approximately four - six weeks for routine requests, and two - three weeks for expedited requests (additional fee required).

We’re everywhere so you can be anywhere: www.uspseverywhere.com

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. We’re everywhere so you can be anywhere: www.uspseverywhere.com. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.