The Arizona State University’s (ASU) Global Education Office (GEO) has entered a partnership with the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) to organize a pop-up Passport Caravan event. It is aimed to break the barrier for the hopeful students in getting the passport, while pursuing a global education program before graduation.

The Passport Caravan will be hosted in the Student Pavilion Multicultural Communities of Excellence space on its Tempe campus, will witness more than 200 students from the first and second year who never has a passport before will be selected to receive one.

These students self-identified as being a part of an underrepresented group in study abroad, such as being a first-generation college student, Pell Grant recipients, racially or ethnically diverse, or part of the LGBTQ community.

The students were guided by an agent from the ASU Passport Office to complete their documentation and in mailing their passport applications to the U.S. Department of State.

Some hopeful students aiming to pursue a global education program before graduation, have faced the challenges in getting a passport. The passport application process can be challenging which might take up to eleven weeks for the physical passport to arrive.

The Passport Caravan aims to simplify the process through accessible resources and guidance that will empower students in completion of the primary procedures required for getting international opportunities.

Students having immigrant parents who haven’t undergone the process of getting a US passport or are having financial issues, are most of students selected for the event.

Passports that will be awarded in the Passport Caravan event are totalled to approximately $32,000, looking at the current cost of an US passport of $165 respectively.