Today's Passport Day Can Help US Citizens Save Before Fee Increases

All 23 regional passport offices will be open to the public today in honor of "Passport Day in the USA." Any citizen in need of a passport can walk into any of these 23 offices without an appointment between 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

The timing of this event is particularly beneficial to American citizens as it occurs before passport fees are likely to increase later this spring. The U.S. State Department formally announced on Feb 9, 2010 its proposal to increase U.S. passport fees in order to fully recover its costs for producing these travel documents. The State Department said it intends to implement its proposed new fees as soon as practicable after it reviews public comments, but certainly not before April.

A summary of some of the proposed fee increases for both the passport book and card are as follows:

-- First-time Passport Book for Adult - Increasing from $100 to $135
-- Renewal Passport Book for Adult - Increasing from $75 to $110
-- Passport Book for Minors - Increases from $60 to $105
-- Passport Card for Adult - From $20 to $30
-- Passport Card for Minors - From $10 to $15

A list of passport office locations can be found at travel.state.gov/passport/passport_4312.html.