Bureau/Office of the Month:

Charleston Passport Center

Together with a financial service center that opened in 1995, the new passport center increases the number of Department and contract employees on the former base to almost 200 and space occupied to more than 100,000 sq. ft. In 1994, the Department acquired almost nine acres of land and four buildings on the base totaling nearly 200,000 sq. ft.

The May 8 ceremony attracted numerous dignitaries, including U.S. Senator Ernest F. Hollings of South Carolina and Mary A. Ryan,

The entrance to the new passport center.

In his remarks, Sen. Hollings welcomed the new center and its employees and described the State Department's presence as not only good for the economy but also for the community. State Department people are good citizens wherever they are. They are active in business, civic, charitable and professional organizations that enrich the overall community, the senator said.

In her remarks, Secretary Ryan noted that the Charleston center, along with its sister center in Portsmouth, N.H., makes it possible for the Department to better serve and meet the needs of the traveling public. A growing number of American citizens are traveling overseas, she said, and the new center will ensure that they are able to get their passports in a timely and efficient manner.

The Department of State strives to continually improve the passport production process by keeping up with the latest technology and producing a passport that all American citizen travelers can be proud to carry, the career ambassador said.

The new Charleston Passport Center will eventually become the Bureau of Consular Affairs' largest passport issuance facility and employ about 300 persons. The center's large-scale passport processing capabilities will help relieve growing workload pressures at 15 passport agencies located throughout the United States. When fully operational, officials said, the Charleston center is expected to produce up to 2 million of the more than 7 million U.S. passports issued annually.

Guests enjoy the reception following the ceremony.

Timothy Wiesnet, director of the new center, said he expected the 65,000-sq. ft. facility to issue about 175,000 passports by the end of September, employing a current staff of 19 State employees and 34 contractors.

The Charleston center will join the National Passport Center in Ports-mouth, N.H., in processing most of the country's mail-in passport business. Like the Portsmouth facility, Charleston will not have a public acceptance counter and has not been designated to accept walk-in applications from passport customers.

Senator and Mrs. Hollings, center, tour facility with Director Tim Wiesnet, right.

The Charleston Passport Center will also join the National Passport Center and the New Orleans and Houston passport agencies in using state-of-the-art technology, including the new photodigitized passport. The new digital imaging system is designed to improve the security of the U.S. passport by printing an image of the bearer and data directly in the passport book. The new process will help deter fraud and crime associated with the illegal use of U.S. passports, officials said.

The digitized passport also contains a number of advanced security features and will gradually replace the older passports as all passport field agencies are converted to the new system. Older style passports will remain valid until their expiration date and continue to be accepted by foreign immigration authorities.