This holiday season marks the last time U.S. travelers can breeze through to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda without their passports. Beginning Jan. 23, visiting our neighbors to the north and south will require passports from all visitors who are flying into the country.

By Jan. 1, 2008, those driving across the border may have to provide passports as well.

That means that many U.S. citizens who have never traveled internationally, other than crossing our immediate borders, will be acquiring passports for the first time.

David Stone, information officer for the Corvallis Post Office, said the downtown branch is already seeing a jump in passport applications.

“We’re averaging 12 to 18 applications a day,” Stone said. “That’s almost double (a normal day).”

It takes between six and eight weeks to receive a passport after applying, and processing centers have hired additional workers to absorb the extra applications. Nationally, a 30 percent increase in applications is expected next year.

Those flying to U.S. territories and possessions, including Guam and Puerto Rico, will not have to provide passports unless the flight includes a stop at an international airport. But a Caribbean spring break or a visit to Puerto Vallarta will now require more than just a copy of your birth certificate.

However, to obtain a new passport, you’ll need a certified copy of your birth certificate, provided by the office of vital records in the state of your birth. In Oregon, they can be obtained in Portland, and cost $60. You’ll also need two passport photos, which can be taken at various locations in Corvallis.

Passport applications are available at the downtown Corvallis post office. The application itself costs $67, with an additional $30 processing fee. Passport renewals, which must take place every 10 years, also cost $67, but do not include the additional processing fee.

To expedite the process, you can pay an additional $60, and receive your passport within two weeks of the application.

Children under age 14 who are obtaining passports must have both parents present when submitting the application at the post office. Stone said single parents or divorced parents have to jump through additional paperwork hoops before the application will be accepted with only one parent’s signature.

At a glance

For more information about obtaining a U.S. passport, call the downtown Corvallis post office at 752-4358, or go online to www.

travel.state.gov.