Nashville was not selected to host a national passport processing center, and now Tennessee’s delegation in Washington is asking the Biden administration for clarity.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Nashville was not selected to host a national passport processing center, and now Tennessee’s delegation in Washington is asking the Biden administration for clarity.
The Tennessee U.S. House Delegation sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to address concerns over the decision to exclude Tennessee from the list of states set to receive a new passport agency.
The letter states even with the six new agencies, Tennesseans will still need to travel about four hours to Atlanta or now, Cincinnati — or farther — if they need urgent passport services.
Click here to read the letter to Sec. Blinken.
The representatives asked what went in to selecting the new locations and if distance and travel was considered.
The state department released a statement to News 2, which reads:
We completed an in-depth analysis and identified six cities where establishing new passport agencies would enable same-day services within a five-hour drive for Americans living in a significant population center and/or improve service availability in the areas with the highest unmet workload demand.
Leo Jilk, Press Officer | Bureau of Consular Affairs
The six locations are Salt Lake City, Kansas City, Orlando, Charlotte, San Antonio and Cincinnati.
Travelers who do not require urgent passport services can apply at acceptance facilities, which include post offices and other local government offices.