State Department approves San Antonio as passport-processing center
The San Antonio City Clerk’s Office has been approved to serve as an official U.S. Department of State Passport Acceptance Facility, making it the only municipality in Bexar County to hold this designation.
Currently, the U.S. Postal Service processes Passports for the State Department at a number of San Antonio area post offices. City Clerk Leticia Vacek says she researched the possibility of offering this service as a way to provide an added level of service to local residents, military bases, extended family and chambers of commerce.
“With the heavy level of travel expected this summer, I’m glad the city will help relieve the backlog and help San Antonians obtain passports in a convenient and timely manner,” Mayor Julian Castro says.
This service may prove beneficial to local residents if the U.S. Postal Service begins closing Post Offices next year, Vacek says. In 2009, the Postal Service said that it was weighing cost-cutting measures, and possibly Post Office closures, as a way to operate profitably.
Beginning May 24, San Antonio residents will be able to apply for their passports at the main City Clerk’s Office at City Hall and the Municipal Archives and Record Facility at 719 S. Santa Rosa. The service will be available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Vacek says one benefit to applying at the Municipal Archives office will be the fact that the city’s vital statistics office is next door. If someone needs to obtain a copy of a birth certificate for the passport application, the person, if born in San Antonio, will be able to walk over and get it and include it in the official application packet. Also, parking at the Municipal Archives office is free and city staff will be available on Saturdays by appointment, Vacek says.
The city anticipates processing 7,500 applications and taking 3,500 Passport photos annually. This would generate $240,000 in new revenue for the City of San Antonio, according to city officials. Passport application rates are set by the State Department. The initial passport fee is currently $100. The renewal fee is $111.
Filed under: technology by Finance Boss