Here's how to apply for a U.S. passport

Last week we reported that beginning Jan. 8, passports will be required for U.S. citizens and foreign travelers entering the U.S. from Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico through airports or seaports. Many of you called or e-mailed to ask how to apply for or renew a passport.

To find out how to get a passport, see the U.S. State Department's Web site at www.travel.state.gov or call the U.S. National Passport Information Center at 877-487-2778. If you're renewing, you can do it by mail, but if you're getting a passport for the first time, you have to apply in person. For a list of post offices and other facilities in the Seattle area where passports are processed, type in your ZIP code at www.iafdb.travel.state.gov.

First-time passports for those 16 and older cost $97, not including photos. For those younger than 16, the cost is $82. Renewals are $67.

Count on about six weeks' processing time, although it may be less. Expedited service is available for an extra fee.

Passports for last-minute travel are issued by appointment only at the Seattle Passport Agency in the Henry Jackson Federal Building, 915 Second Ave. If you're traveling within two weeks and need emergency service, call 877-487-2778 for an appointment.

If you're planning to cross the border by car or take a ferry or the Victoria Clipper to Canada, you won't need a passport until 2008. Tourism officials lobbied for the delay, and they hope to persuade the government to come up with an alternative.

Travel-industry officials are pushing to have the passport rules for air and sea travel delayed beyond next January, but they're not holding their breath.

For Seattleites, the rules will apply to float-plane travel to and from B.C.; Canada cruises to Alaska that travel via Victoria and Vancouver, B.C.; and weekend cruises between Seattle and B.C.

Duty-free sales resume for Americans

Sales of duty-free liquor, perfume and other liquid or cream items to U.S.-bound passengers traveling from Europe have resumed after a ban following an Aug. 10 terrorist threat to bomb U.S. planes.

One caveat: If you want to bring these back, make sure you're flying directly to your final destination without a connection through another U.S. city.

Duty-free shops at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Frankfurt, New Zealand's Auckland International and others are arranging for shop personnel to deliver the goods to U.S. passengers in sealed bags after a security check at the gates. The items have to be purchased at least 90 minutes before departure.

In most cases, passengers with connecting flights in the U.S. can't take advantage of the service because of the Transportation Security Administration ban on passengers carrying liquids aboard planes.

Added fee proposed for fast-pass program

With opposition mounting, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said that he is "still looking at" how much to charge air travelers for a fast-pass program that would speed them through airport security.

Chertoff said he supports the idea of making people in the Registered Traveler program "pay their own weight," which could cost up to $200 a year.

Chertoff's comments come days after the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) disclosed that it plans to charge travelers $100 to $120 to enroll in Registered Traveler program and at least $70 a year after that.

The government costs are in addition to roughly $80 annually that program participants would have to pay to private companies operating the program.

Under Registered Traveler, people who pass a voluntary background check would receive a fingerprint-embedded ID card that would give them access to special security lanes with expedited screening.

TSA says it is moving ahead with plans to introduce the program at 20 airports by the end of this year. So far, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has said it doesn't plan to participate. Saflink, a Bellevue security company, plans to compete for airport contracts nationwide.

Compiled by Seattle Times staff and news services