SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio is one of six cities selected as the future home of a passport agency, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.
The selection comes as the department encourages Americans to obtain their passports. For San Antonio, it will now save those needing passport or visa services from having to drive to Houston or Dallas.
The forthcoming agencies announced are:
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Salt Lake City, Utah
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Kansas City, Missouri
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Orlando, Florida
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Charlotte, North Carolina
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San Antonio, Texas
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Cincinnati, Ohio
According to the State Department, the six facilities will expand the agency’s footprint to 35.
The announcement comes as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, which asked the department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs to provide “improved in-person and emergency passport services to residents living in a significant population center more than a five-hour drive from a currently established passport agency,” a news release from U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said.
A State Department press release said that while 5% of Americans had a passport in 1990, that number has now risen to 48%.
Castro called the announcement “incredible news for South Texas travelers” in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Sen. John Cornyn praised the announcement in a statement, saying in part, “With only three other U.S. passport agencies in Texas, this much-needed facility in ‘Military City USA’ will make it easier and more convenient for Texans to obtain and renew a passport.”
For more on the functions of passport agencies and to see a map of other locations, click here.
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