Upcoming U.S. Passport Policy Change

All U.S. air and sea passengers traveling to destinationsany questions about applying for a U.S. passport.
such as the British Virgin Islands will soon require aThe CTO will organize events in conjunction with
passport. Various agencies will allocate the properUSPS such as the Caribbean Fair in New York. These
resources to prevent U.S. travelers from beingevents will allow participants to apply for a passport
stranded. They will spread this information nationwide,without any headaches. The USPS will set-up a one
and educated U.S. citizens on convenient ways tostop shop at these events. They will have application
apply for a U.S. passport.forms and cameras to facilitate the application
Due to the upcoming U.S. passport policy change theprocess. These services will be offered to those who
Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has takenhave never obtained a passport, and those who need
action to help U.S. citizens acquire U.S. passports. Theto renew their passport.
new policy will take effect on January 2007.Applying for a passport has never been difficult, but it
The CTO will be working together with the Unitedcan take up to six weeks or more to finally receive a
States Postal Service (USPS). Both parties agreedvalid U.S. Passport. Since the average person tends to
that a joint effort would make the process efficientwait to the last minute the closer we get to the
and beneficial to those American Citizens that needdeadline the longer it will probably take to acquire one.
require a passport.If you plan to travel outside the U.S. by air or sea after
The USPS will be offering online forms on their site ( orthe deadline, the best time to apply for a U.S. passport
applicants can call 1-800-ASK-USPS. You can also callis now.
the USPS Marketing Department at 212-330-3070 for