GREATER BUFFALO/NIAGARA — Currently, a traveler can travel to and from Canada with only photo ID and an official birth certificate. But starting June 1, 2009 that changes; travelers will need a passport or other State Department accepted identification as part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.
In anticipation of the June deadline, Western New York area Post Offices are partnering with the State Department to promote National Passport Acceptance Day on March 28. Seventeen Buffalo/Niagara Post Offices are hosting Saturday passport events to help busy customers to obtain proper travel identification. (See full list of participating Post Offices and hours of acceptance.)
“With the right application and documentation, the passport application process is simple,” states USPS Retail Manager George Niessing. “But sometimes getting to the Post Office during regular work hours is the most difficult part. Saturday passport hours help make it convenient for customers to get the application process started. And since both parents need to be present to apply for a child’s passport, Saturday hours make it suitable for all family members to be available.”
Customers have the option of applying for a passport book, good for all international travel or the passport card, which is less expensive but good only for land and sea travel between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean region and Bermuda.
The cost for an adult passport book is $75 plus a $25 processing/acceptance fee and the cost of photos; the adult passport card is $20 plus a $25 processing fee and the cost of photos. Both are good for ten years. Customers wanting both the passport book and card are charged only one processing fee. Payments are accepted via cash, check. Credit cards are acceptable for processing and photo fees only.
Travelers are encouraged to apply for a passport several months before they are scheduled to travel overseas. A passport application is normally processed by the State Department within five to six weeks. However, for an additional fee, the State Department will expedite the application and process it within three business days, and for those who need speedy delivery, the U. S. Postal Service offers Express Mail next day delivery both to and from the State Department.
To apply for a passport, travelers need to complete Passport Application Form DS-11 (unsigned), provide proof of U. S. citizenship and proof of identity, submit two identical passport photos and pay the appropriate passport fees.
For more information about the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative or other passport application requirements, visit the State Department’s travel website at travel.state.gov.
Buffalo/Niagara Post Offices Participating in National Passport Day:
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About the U.S. Postal Inspection Service
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is one of the oldest federal law enforcement agencies in the country. For more than 200 years, Postal Inspectors have protected the U.S. Postal Service, secured the nation’s mail system and ensured public trust in the mail. To learn more, visit http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/ and www.FakeChecks.org.
An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.
