US Post office plans passport fairs
Published February 11th, 2006
Laws passed in 2004, dubbed the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative by the State Department, will require travelers entering the United States to present a passport. With tougher laws approaching, the Ypsilanti branch of the U.S. Postal Service wanted to make traveling more accessible to its community members.
With that in mind, Ypsilanti Postmaster Ronald Mutschler and employee Pam Rowland thought having passport fairs in the Ypsilanti area would open up the process to students and others.
Rowland said those seeking passports at the Ypsilanti post office are required to come in and fill out the forms 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday-Friday. It’s a time frame that can sometimes be a challenge for students and their parents.
“We do see a lot of students,” said Rowland. “A lot of students go to Spain with their Spanish class or they go on tour with a music class. There is a definite need. Often they come in to the office at two minutes to 3 p.m. and it’s very difficult for parents to take off in the middle of the day.”
The first fair is scheduled for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday in the Lincoln High School cafeteria. The second is set for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. March 18 in the Ypsilanti High School cafeteria.
Depending on how the fairs go, the Ypsilanti post office may consider scheduling more, said Rowland.
“Whether we will hold anymore is something we don’t know at this time,” she said. “However, when we gauge how it works out and if there is a need we might look into it. We try to be customer oriented and work on their schedule rather than ours. For example, we used to be open only until 5 p.m. and now we stay open until 6 p.m.”
According to the State Department, as of Dec. 31 a passport will be required for all air and sea travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda. On Dec. 31, 2007, the passport requirement will be extended to all land border crossings.
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