A new passport office will open in Buffalo, New York later this year, according to ABC News. The Regional Passport Agency will be able to offer same-day passport service, making it easier for people living in western New York to deal with sudden trips across the border to Canada, which now require a passport.
According to WIVB.com, the new passport office will be located in the Warner Building on Genesee Street. It should be open this fall, in late September or early October. Until then, the closest place for citizens of Western New York to get a same-day passport issued is the passport office in New York City.
The Spectrum, the University of Buffalo’s student newspaper, quoted Representative Chris Lee as saying “Western New Yorkers need to have the ability to travel easily across our northern border. With a one-stop shop passport office located right in our community, Western New Yorkers will be able to more easily acquire valid travel documents while not having their need to conduct cross-border business negatively affected.”
However, there is a catch- same-day passports will only be issued to applicants who can produce proof of travel showing that they have already booked tickets to leave the country within the next 14 days (although if you are traveling for business, a business letter may be accepted).
Also, the passport office will operate on an appointment-only basis, so you can’t expect to just waltz in there and pick up a passport. Finally, in all likelihood the office will have very limited office hours- many Regional Passport Agency offices have hours that might make bankers jealous.
Although the Department of State has been making an effort to open new passport offices, for many Americans the nearest Regional Passport Agency office is very far away, making driving inconvenient at best and impractical or even impossible at worst.
If you can’t make it to a Regional Passport Agency office, there is an easier way to get your passport expedited. A private expediting company like RushMyPassport.com can hand-deliver your passport application to the Department of State, resulting in lightning-fast processing. In fact, RushMyPassport.com can have your passport application processed in as little as 24 hours.
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