Awaiting Your Passport from New Orleans Office?

Sept. 7, 2005 — -- All important documents and passport applications from the New Orleans office have been recovered, according to State Department officials.

The regional office, located in a flooded downtown New Orleans office building, was among the largest processing centers in the United States, handling 17 percent of all passport applications.

The State Department said recent passport applicants will receive postcards this week from the Bureau of Consular Affairs notifying them of disruptions and possible delays caused by Hurricane Katrina.

The postcard advises those who plan to travel within the next six weeks to contact the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778.

"Obviously, we will make every effort to reach out to those individuals at the best possible addresses for them, but people can call and talk to the National Passport Information Center about getting their passport in the next six weeks," said State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack.

The New Orleans passport center remains closed until further notice. All new applications have been rerouted to other offices.

For more information go here: U.S. State Department: Bureau of Consular Affairs