Get your passports here!!!!

Go to: http://officialtraveldocuments.com

Updated: 09/27/05

Nashville, Tenn. and San Francisco,
Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ --

Obtaining travel documents will now be easier than ever for millions of Americans planning international travel. Two of the leading expediters of travel documents have combined forces to make ordering passports, visas and birth certificates as simple as going to the Internet.

VitalChek(R), the leading birth certificate processor, and Zierer Visa Service (ZVS), the leading passport and visa expediter, today announced the launch of OfficialTravelDocuments.com(SM).

A recent survey of Americans indicates that international travel, particularly for leisure, continues to rise. Plus, a record number of nearly 62 million U.S. travelers went abroad last year, up 10 percent from 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Interestingly, while the number of Americans who travel outside U.S. borders is climbing, the number of those who have passports remains at a low 20 percent.

An estimated 21 million Americans will travel to and from the Caribbean, Mexico and Bermuda this year. They are not required to have a passport - now. However, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 requires all Americans to have a passport by 2008 to reenter the United States from any other country in the Western Hemisphere. The first two phases of the initiative include the Caribbean, Bermuda, Mexico, Canada and Central and South America. This will create an enormous increase in demand for passports. In fact, as the number of travelers continues to increase and the requirement for passports becomes a reality, the demand is expected to reach an all time high.

Together, VitalChek and ZVS support OfficialTravelDocuments.com with more than 70 years of experience in the travel document industry. Until now, this industry has been fragmented with the majority of companies being "mom and pop" travel document expediters. However, OfficialTravelDocuments.com offers a secure, direct-to-government service that will provide travelers with passports, visas and birth certificates in as little as 24 hours after receipt of the documents from the traveler.

"Our research proves that there is a real need for a robust travel document Web site with staying power," said Deslie Webb Quinby, VitalChek vice president. "It is crucial for travelers to feel confident and comfortable that they will receive their personal documents in a timely manner and through secure means."

OfficialTravelDocuments.com will be a "one-stop shop" for all travel document needs including helpful information and step-by-step instructions on how to obtain travel documents. Orders are tracked online and the site offers a team of specialists for personalized service. Unlike other sites, OfficialTravelDocuments.com allows customers to place orders online using a credit card.

Also, it does not outsource to couriers, and its employees are certified, U.S.-based representatives.

VitalChek, a ChoicePoint(R) company, is the leading source for the remote ordering of birth certificates and other vital records. The benchmark of VitalChek's business operations is its ability to link Americans with the state, county or city agencies that house their personal vital records - specifically, certified copies of birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates.

With more than 250 network affiliates nationwide, VitalChek is the fastest and largest supplier of certified vital records in the country. VitalChek facilitates the expedited delivery and payment processing of more than 25,000 certified vital record documents each week. VitalChek, with headquarters in Nashville, provides service in all 50 states as well as British Columbia, Canada.

Neither VitalChek nor ChoicePoint has access to vital records; rather, VitalChek facilitates the order and fulfillment of vital records by the government agencies that maintain them.

Founded in 1954, ZVS is the most experienced and well-established passport and visa company of its kind in the world. More than one million travelers have used ZVS to secure necessary documentation to travel to destinations around the globe. With current offices located throughout the U.S. and London, ZVS is the leader in its industry and committed to providing the most professional and expeditious service for its clients' travel documentation needs. The company is based in San Francisco.

VitalChek and ChoicePoint are registered trademarks and OfficialTravelDocuments.com is a service mark of ChoicePoint Asset Company.

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