Senator Asks State Department Chief for Help With Miami Passports

MIAMI, FL — Florida Sen. Bill Nelson has urged U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to find a temporary location for the Miami office that issues U.S. passports after some constituents apparently complained that they were being told to "visit offices" as far away as Atlanta or San Juan.

Local officials had already said they were working to find alternate locations in South Florida to process "urgent" passport applications.

“I urge you to make every effort to minimize the inconvenience,” Nelson penned in a letter to State Department head Tillerson, “including issuing clear guidance to affected travelers and opening a temporary location in Miami for emergency passport services as soon as possible.” (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Patch.)

Kevin Brosnahan, a spokesman for the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. told Patch on Tuesday that most people who visit the Miami office are travelling outside the country within two weeks or have urgent other business with the passport agency.

"The shutdown of the passport agency doesn’t really affect every applicant," Brosnahan said. "For the most part, I think people who need to renew — as long as they’re adults renewing — they don’t even need to do anything in person. They can do it all by mail." What's more, he said that many U.S. post offices also accept passport applications.

He added that officials are not aware of any paper applications being damaged in the Miami office. He said it is too early to say when the agency will reopen and whether it can reopen in the same location.

The office was closed indefinitely after it suffered "significant" water damage on Sunday. The damage coincided with heavy rains in the Miami area but it is believed to have been caused by a faulty sprinkler system. Like Miami Patch on Facebook

People with pressing passport needs should contact the National Passport Information Center at 877-487-2778 or 888-874-7793 (TTY/TTD) for assistance.

Click here for information if you need help determining which service you need.

Most adult applicants can renew by mail without visiting a passport agency or an acceptance facility. Normal processing time is 6-8 weeks; expedited processing (with an additional fee) is 2-3 weeks.

Minors under age 16 need to apply in person with their parents, but that can also be done at a local acceptance facility as well (for those that do not have urgent travel plans). To find a local acceptance facility click here.

"Customers who were scheduled to pick up a passport, have a pending appointment, or need urgent passport services within two weeks should call," federal officials instructed. "Customers with existing appointments will be rescheduled at a different passport agency."