Town Hall easing passport woes

Story and photo by Karen Keefe
Grand Island Dispatch, March 30, 2007

Town Clerk Patricia Frentzel helps Grand Island resident Dana Brindisi apply for a passport on Tuesday at Town Hall.

It used to be simple to cross the border to and from Canada. Point the car toward the bridge. A couple of miles, questions and coins later, you’re on the other side.

But new regulations may take effect Jan. 1, 2008, that would require a passport to be proffered each time you return across the border to the United States. As a result of this and other changes in travel guidelines, the demand for U.S. passports is way up – and so is the delay. Overseas travelers who used to wait five to six weeks for passports are now experiencing waits that are double that. Even expedited passports, which cost more, are taking up to a month. Doubtless, the delays have put a crimp in quite a few travel plans.

Grand Island Town Clerk Patricia Frentzel wants residents to know that they can apply for passports right at Town Hall. It’s a convenient service she says her office is happy to provide.

“With a 10- to 12-week delay, we don’t want them to wait,” she said. “We can do everything here, including passport photos,” she said. Frentzel and her staff of deputy clerks are all trained in the process. They can help first-timers and those who are just renewing passports.

Hours by Appointment

Town Hall joins the Grand Island Post Office in offering this service. “We’re the only other passport agents on the Island,” Frentzel said. Applications are accepted from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. at Town Hall. In addition, “I have the flexibility of doing evenings and weekends,” by appointment, she explained. Last Saturday, she had an appointment with a couple from Lewiston, and their 5-month-old baby. “It turned out really well,” she said. Frentzel is also planning a passport day next month at Town Hall, geared especially to senior citizens.

Earlier this week, 21-year-old Dana Brindisi was in Town Hall to apply for her passport. “I’m going on vacation and I’m studying abroad,” she explained. In May, she is going on a cruise to Cozumel, Mexico, and Key West. A 2004 graduate of Grand Island High School, she is studying biology at the University at Buffalo and wants to take some courses in Italy. “I want to do a minor in Italian,” she said.

New Travel Requirements

Effective this year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to better secure our borders, is requiring individuals to carry a passport when returning by air from any country, including Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Starting in 2008, it is expected that citizens over age 15 will be required to have passports when traveling by land into the United States from Canada.

Frentzel has noted a big increase over last year, when Town Hall first began accepting the applications. In 2006, her office handled a total of 200 passport applications. This year, the staff has already accepted 119, with nine more months to go. “With us being on the Canadian border, I see that we’ll have a busy year,” she said. Many travelers are bracing for the Jan. 1 deadline, “Until this moves into legislation, you have to go forward” in anticipation of the change, she said.

While the clerk’s office accepts applications here, the passports are processed by the U.S. State Department, which has hired hundreds of employees to process requests as tougher immigration rules have taken effect. Nationally, about 12 million passport applications were processed in 2006, whereas 17 million are expected this year, according to Acting Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul.

Town halls across the region are starting to offer the service to help people cope with the paperwork, so travelers can get on to those vacations, honeymoons and business trips.

What’s Required?

“People need to know what documents they need to have,” Frentzel said. She explained that many people do not realize baptismal and hospital records won’t suffice as ID. You must have a birth certificate with a raised seal, as well as photo ID to start the process. Frentzel’s staff can advise people on obtaining the right documents. Applicants must also have two identical passport photos go with the application.

A traveler can apply for a renewal if their passport was issued within the past 15 years, and if they were at least 16 at the time of issuance. This can be done by mail, if desired, but the applicant must obtain new photographs, which can be done at Town Hall. For adults getting their first passport, the processing fee is $97, with an additional $60 for expedited service. Passport renewals for adults cost $67, with the same expedited fee.

For more information about the process and about where you can apply, visit the Web site www.travel.state.gov. You can search for the nearest location by zip code, and once you apply, you can check the progress of the application, Frentzel said.