{"id":118424,"date":"2026-01-31T16:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T16:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/118424\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T16:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T16:08:10","slug":"union-county-clerk-urges-passport-card-for-residents-without-real-id","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/118424\/","title":{"rendered":"Union County Clerk Urges Passport Card for Residents Without Real ID"},"content":{"rendered":"

Union County<\/a><\/p>\n

By: Kelly Matins, Director, Office of Communication<\/p>\n

With demand for REAL ID appointments continuing to create challenges for travelers, Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi is encouraging residents who do not yet have a REAL ID \u2014 or are unable to secure an appointment \u2014 to consider applying for a U.S. Passport Card as a reliable alternative for domestic air travel.<\/p>\n

\"Ad\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A U.S. Passport Card allows individuals to travel within the United States by plane and meets the same federal security and validity standards as a REAL ID.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The card also allows U.S. citizens to prove their citizenship. The cost of a Passport Card is $30.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently announced that travelers 18 years of age or older who do not present a REAL ID at airport security will be subject to additional screening procedures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These procedures may include enhanced screening, database checks, knowledge-based questions, or biometric verification, and may result in a $45 fee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The additional screening process can take 10 to 30 minutes, potentially causing delays for travelers.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI know how difficult it can be to get an appointment to obtain a REAL ID,\u201d said Clerk Rajoppi. \u201cAs an alternative, a Passport Card is a great choice and will not slow travelers at the airport.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Residents interested in obtaining a U.S. Passport Card can schedule an appointment at the Union County Clerk\u2019s Office in Elizabeth or Westfield by visiting www.ucnj.org\/county-clerk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Ad\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For more information on Passport Cards, REAL ID alternatives, and available appointments, residents are encouraged to visit the Union County Clerk\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Union County By: Kelly Matins, Director, Office of Communication With demand for REAL ID appointments continuing to create…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118425,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-118424","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}