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The Office of Postal Services on campus has received approval from the Department of State to begin issuing passports for students on campus.
Kevin Elrod, postal services supervisor, has assisted in issuing passports for around 16 students since receiving the approval.
“We have processed 16 applications since we started and we have several appointments already on the schedule and we have taken 33 photos,” Elrod said.
Students interested in applying for a passport need to bring their original birth certificate when applying for the passport and must schedule an appointment any time between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays by calling the postal services office at (620)-235-4775, or sending an email to pspassport@pitttstate.edu.
Another service that the postal services office offers to students when applying for passports is taking photos for the passport. The process for filling and processing the passport application takes about 20 to 30 minutes per person.
“We help students to apply for passports step-by-step and the biggest thing is to always remember that they have to have their original birth certificate,” Elrod said.
Students can find information about passports and passport applications by visiting www.travel.state.gov.
“Many students come to our office with questions about passports and applications, photos and fees for passports and we are happy to help them in answering their questions but visiting the website can really help answer all their questions and save their trip to our office and come when they’re ready for the process,” Elrod said.
The passport application costs $110 and the processing fee of $35 must be made payable to PSU, and then the cost for photos is $15. Cash, check, or money orders are accepted, though money orders require additional fees. The process of receiving the passports takes around four to six weeks, and if the student is leaving the country in less than that, they have to pay additional fees of $60 to expedite the process and receive the passport in around two to three weeks instead.
“For routine processing, they say allow four to six weeks before travel and if you need to expedite, it will cost an extra $60 for processing and they say roughly two to three weeks,” Elrod said.
Students can also apply for passports for their kids and newborns through the postal services office.
“Students with kids can apply for them by scheduling an appointment through us and bringing their original birth certificates. The cost will be a little bit different and the applications and processing them will be different too,” Elrod said.
Another service the postal services is offering is taking photos for international students for their OPT and CPT applications; the applications and fees for this type of paperwork must be done through the international office.