(The following news release was issued by the U.S. Department of
State)
Americans are seeking passports in record numbers and the State Department is taking extraordinary action to ensure that this demand is met. Should they so desire, Americans who need passports within two weeks, to travel or to get a visa, may check the status of their application online at http://travel.state.gov or call the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778. We have assigned additional staff to our call center to answer urgent inquiries. The call center is open from 7 a.m. to 12 midnight, Eastern Time, Monday-Friday, except federal holidays.
Because of the unprecedented demand for passports, travelers should allow ten (10) weeks for routine processing and four (4) weeks for expedited processing.
January through April is our normal peak season, as travelers prepare for spring and summer holidays. This year, a new law requiring Americans to have passports when traveling to or from the United States by air has increased passport demand and production to record levels. The passport requirement for land and sea travel has not yet taken effect. In Fiscal Year 2006, we issued 12 million passports, and we are on track to adjudicate up to 17 million passport applications in Fiscal Year 2007. Over 74 million Americans now have passports, and over one million more get passports every month.
The State Department is committed to meeting the challenge of increased demand for passports. In the past three years, we have hired and trained new staff – 250 new adjudicators in the past two years, with plans to hire 150 more in 2007-08. Our production centers are working extended hours, including around-the-clock operations at the National Passport Center in Portsmouth, NH, and we have increased our overtime staffing at the other 16 passport agencies. In April, we will open a mega-processing center in Arkansas that will produce as many as 10 million passports a year. We recognize that Americans have unprecedented travel document needs, and we are dedicated to producing passports in time for their travel. 2007/187 Summer and Fall Teams Are Forming
Bogota, Colombia - June 23 - July 7 - Evangelism through English
Minsk, Belarus - July 13-26, 2007 - Evangelism through English
Novosibirsk, Russia - November 2 - 10, 2007 - Evangelism through Business English.
Managua, Nicaragua - late November 2007 (1 week) - Evangelism through English
2008
Managua, Nicaragua - January 5-19, 2008 - Evangelism through English
Holzhausen, Germany - January 2008 - Children's VBS for MK's
Take a Vacation
with a Purpose Our 2007-2008 calendar is beginning to fill up. Click on the Project link below to take a look at the opportunities already scheduled.
2007 Projects - http://jodykennedy.com/projects.html
Teams of 10-12 adult men and women will work at each ministry site to reach the 400-500 adults that will attend each event. There are openings for dozens of volunteers. Each teacher will need a valid U.S. passport. Passports can be easily obtained and we will help you with that process.
The curriculum is super easy to teach and very little preparation is required. We provide the teaching materials and will train you in how to facilitate the exercises. The students do most of the work. Read more about the course and course topics at http://www.psenglish.com.
If you or someone you know is at all interested, please click on our
information request link
http://jodykennedy.com/contactmeform.htm or Email
jody@jodykennedy.com right
away. 2007 Calendar Available Our 2007 calendar is already filling with English language evangelism events, Business English evangelism events, prison ministry and the Children's Home project. We need lots of volunteers to fill all these projects with laborers. We've just updated our website (www.jodykennedy.com) with the 2007-08 schedule. We are praying for volunteers and finances to accomplish these vital projects.
WHO
DO I CONTACT? Contact Jody Kennedy about details or to sign-up for a missions project. Phone:
817.944.2288 Email:
jody@jodykennedy.com WHAT ABOUT FUTURE EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES? Check the calendar at www.jodykennedy.com/projects.html Read about the Children's Home Project in Nicaragua here. WHAT IF I CANNOT GO, BUT WOULD LIKE TO DONATE MONEY OR SPONSOR SOMEONE TO GO? Contact us by telephone, email, or letter. All donations are tax-deductible. Jody Kennedy International and LOVEM International are non-profit charities. Is this your first Newsletter/Update from Jody Kennedy International? We respect your privacy and we don't want to "spam" anyone. Your email address was added to our mailing list because of your request, or because we think you would want to know what is happening with our ministry. If you do not want to receive these e-mailings from us, please click Unsubscribe Me and select "unsubscribe". Privacy Policy: Jody
Kennedy International does not share any information about our
constituents, team members, supporters, or partners with any other
party, corporation, non-profit organization or entity. © Copyright 2007 - Jody Kennedy International - All Rights Reserved |
