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Source: Detroit Free PressSept.迷你倉 24--The 4-year-old Detroit Passport Agency is so busy it now processes more than 100,000 passports a year, including 25,000 issued on an emergency or last-minute basis, U.S. Department of State Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Janice Jacobs said Tuesday."It's been a huge success," said Jacobs, who was in Detroit today for meetings with consular employees. She spoke privately with the Free Press this morning.The agency, located at 211 W. Fort St. in downtown Detroit, issues passports by appointment to travelers who need them in two weeks or less.Officers have even issued passports in as little as an hour and a half for travelers who have missed flights due to passport problems, said Marc Mezner, regional director of the Detroit agency. "One of the main categories we see here is families, where parents have 10-year passports and children have 5-year passports, and they get to the airport and realize that their children's have expired," he said. "It's a good idea before your trip to look not only at your passport but those of all family members."Before the Detroit agency opened, Michigan travelers with urgent passport needs had to travel all the way to Chicago.Mezner says many people still don't know the Detroit facility exists.They also may not realize that when they dial the State Department consumer phone number (877-487-2778) it is answered in Lansing, site of the National Passport Information Center. The center handles queries about everything from passports to passport appointments to pleas by family members trying to reach missing loved ones abroad.Innocents abroadToday 37% of American citizens hold passports, double that of a decade ago. Jacobs' 12,000-member worldwide consular staff provides services for Americans abroad and issues visas for foreign visitors."Americans are most familiar with us about passports," she said. "But some people don't know what we provide overseas."Among the services? If you are detained or arrested in another country you have a right to request to contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. Travelers who register their trip plans with the State Department (https://step.state.gov/step/) make it easy to reach them in case something goes wrong. The State Department records births and deaths involving American citizens abroad. It even helps victims of parental abductions of children, about 1,144 of them last year.It maintains the web site .travel.state.gov that lists information about visiting every country in the world, including any travel alerts or warnings.About 65 million 儲存倉mericans travel abroad each year, and 7.6 million live abroad.Apply for a passportRight now is a good time to apply for a passport because it is slow season, Mezner said Tuesday. Those not in a rush can apply at any post office or acceptance facility (to find the closest one see iafdb.travel.state.gov/.)One surprise to Detroit-area consular affairs staff is the popularity of passport cards. The small wallet-size cards act like a passport at land and sea borders but don't replace regular passports that can be used all over the world.However, Jacobs says citizens have found other uses for passport cards, especially recently naturalized citizens who like carrying a passport card in place of their old green card. Six million have been issued since they were introduced in 2007."It was intended to help those who live on the border to have something more convenient than a passport," she said. "But others get it for identification purposes."Mezner says Michigan boaters also like carrying passport cards as an easy proof of citizenship should they be stopped.Pressure's on for visasAs any Michigan family with family abroad knows, the other big job of the State Department's consular division is processing visas for foreigners traveling to the U.S.It is an increasingly tricky task, Jacobs says.Her division must process more than 10 million visa applications each year (1 million from China alone last year), yet still ensure that people who might wish to harm the U.S. are not approved.The State Department has been under increasing pressure from the U.S. travel industry and the White House to streamline visa processing, particularly for visitors from China and Brazil."The White House is very interested in trying to increase the number of international visitors coming into the United States," Jacobs said. "Visitors spent $165 billion here last year, and for every 65 international visitors who come, there is enough revenue to create a job in the travel and tourism industry."In January 2012, President Obama asked us to increase our (visa processing) capacity by 40% in just one year for China and Brazil. We were able to do that." Wait times for visa appointments for 80% of applicants fell to 3 weeks, down from 3 months.Still, the responsibility to get things right is heavy."Consular officers are responsible." Jacobs said. "Every time they hit that approve button they are taking personal responsibility for the visa they have issued."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Detroit Free Press Visit the Detroit Free Press at .freep.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉