Need a passport? That’s a problem in Miami because the office is shut down

Getting a U.S. passport for many residents of the Southeast just became a more laborious task with the closing of the U.S. State Department’s Miami Passport Agency for possibly two weeks.

The agency’s website says the office at 1501 W. Biscayne Blvd. in downtown Miami is closed to the public until further notice, unable to take appointments or process passports. This drastically affects passports throughout the region, whether or not they were filed at this office. Passport processing in Florida and other parts of the Southeast flows through the Miami office.

A Department of State spokesman said the office suffered serious water damage on Sunday, but the department will work with those whose passport applications are pending to make sure they’re processed.

Customers with appointments at the Miami office will be rescheduled at another agency office. Those customers, as well as those scheduled to pick up a passport or needing an expedited passport should call the National Passport Information Center at 877-487-2778 or 888-874-7793 (TTY/TTD). Monday morning callers to the appointment line seeking times for the next two weeks were offered appointments at the agency offices in Atlanta or New Orleans.

Carve out some time because that line will be busy the next few days.

This bulletin will be updated as more information is available.

This story was originally published April 24, 2017 at 12:03 PM with the headline "Need a passport? That’s a problem in Miami because the office is shut down."