BEAUFORT, SC – On March 9, 2013, the Beaufort Main Post Office will conduct a passport fair for people planning to travel to Canada, Mexico and overseas.
Passport hours at the Beaufort Main Post Office will be 10:00am – 2:00pm for this year’s event.
“We’re here to help our customers as they prepare to travel the world,” says Beaufort Postmaster Ricardo Reed. “We make getting a passport easy and convenient with a one-stop shop solution,” explained Reed.
In addition to the familiar passport book, travelers can also apply for a passport card, which may be used for land and sea travel between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean region. The wallet-size passport card is a less expensive alternative for those who travel to these destinations, but it cannot be used for international air travel.
To apply for a passport book or passport card for the first time, applicants need proof of U.S. citizenship in the form of a certified copy of their birth certificate issued by the city, county or state, or a certificate of citizenship or a naturalization certificate. Applicants will also need a valid form of photo identification, and must submit a photocopy of identification, such as a current valid driver’s license, government ID or military photo ID.
For first time applicants, the fee for a passport book is $110.00 to the Department of State with an acceptance fee of $25 to the Postal Service. The fee for an adult passport card is $30.00. An expedited process is also available.
Passport applications for both the book and the card require a 2 x 2 photograph in color, which can be taken at the Passport Day event for a $15.00 fee.
Customers can learn more about passport application costs and save time by downloading forms at www.usps.com/passport. U.S. citizens may also obtain passport information by phone, in English and Spanish, by calling the National Passport Information Center toll-free at 1-877-487-2778.
For the latest information on passport deadlines and other travel requirements established by the U.S. Department of State, go to www.travel.state.gov. Travelers can check the status of their passport applications online at: http://travel.state.gov/passport/status/status_2567.html.
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.# # #
Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at http://about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm.
For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional, please go to http://about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf.
A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 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. 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 $65 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 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, the U.S. Postal Service was ranked number one in overall service performance, out of the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world, Oxford Strategic Consulting. 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 for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.
Follow the Postal Service on Twitter @USPS_PR and at facebook.com/usps.

