BREAKING NEWS
Passport Law Delayed; IDs Needed at Borders
RV Business
Monday, January 21, 2008
Travelers crossing the Canadian border will soon face tighter identity checks but citizens of both nations will not have to show passports until 2009, US authorities said Friday (Jan. 18), according to an Agence France-Press (AFP) report.
From Jan. 31, "border crossers will be asked to present documents denoting citizenship and identity when entering the United States through land and sea ports of entry," the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement. The requirement also applies to travelers entering the U.S. from Mexico.
Previously, U.S. and Canadian citizens have been allowed to cross the border after making just an oral declaration of nationality. The new rule aims to standardize what documents travelers to the United States must carry.
However, a bid to oblige these citizens to show a full passport to enter the United States has been delayed by the U.S. Congress, DHS said.
"Although DHS was on schedule to begin implementation of the new (passport) requirements as early as summer 2008, the fiscal year 2008 Appropriations Bill passed by Congress last month restricts the department from implementing these new requirements until June 2009."
RV and camping associations in the northeast, and Canadian officials near the border have expressed concern over what impact proposed passport requirements will have on tourism.
The measures aim to crack down on illegal declarations by people who falsely claim to be citizens, it said. Customs officers reported more than 1,500 false declarations from October to December 2007 alone.
"For the safety of the American people, the United States cannot have an honor system at the border," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in the statement.
"Requiring secure and reliable documentation at our borders will drastically reduce security vulnerabilities."
AFP reported that from Jan. 31, all U.S. and Canadian citizens aged 19 and over will be asked to present documentation "from a specified list of acceptable documents" such as birth certificates and driver's licenses.
"Travelers who do not present one of these documents may be delayed while US Customs and Border Protection officers attempt to verify their identity and citizenship," said the DHS.
This is from the Canada/alaska forum. The subject of the post is "passport Update"
As pointed out on another thread, though, it's a whole lot simpler to present a passport than to have to work with birth certificates, driver's licenses, marriage certificates, etc. And for $10/year, with replacement needed only every 10 years, it's a decent value. Go ahead & get a passport anyway.
I agree. Why mess with all that other junk. Just get the passport and dont worry about cruising or anything else. A passport is good as gold. Just allow yourself enough time before you take the trip to get it back.
Thanks for the replies. I checked the web and found the regulations. It states the same as what was posted.
Q: Do I need a passport for travel to Mexico, Canada or the Bahamas?
A: The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 requires that by January 1, 2008, travelers to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada have a passport or other secure, accepted document to enter or re-enter the United States. In order to facilitate the implementation of this requirement, the Administration is proposing to complete it in phases following a proposed timeline, which will be published in the Federal Register in the near future.
In the proposed implementation plan, which is subject to a period of initial public comment, the Initiative will be rolled out in phases, providing as much advance notice as possible to the affected public to enable them to meet the terms of the new guidelines. The proposed timeline will be as follows:
January 8, 2007 - Requirement applied to all air and sea travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.
January 1, 2008 - Requirement extended to all land border crossings as well as air and sea travel.
I live on the Canadian border and two weeks ago when going over the pond for dinner a verbal declaration was required to enter Canada and a picture ID to return the the US, this past Saturday a picture ID was requested to enter Canada and on the return trip a picture ID and birth cert was requested, however the BC will only be enforced at the end of the month..looking forward it will be prudent to get the passport, just another PIA..wonder what all the terrorists used to fly into this country?passports ??
I just talked to our local customs a couple hours ago (my daughter lives in Quebec, about 12 miles from me and I cross very often). According to them, February 1, proof of citizenship is required. It does not have to be a passport. It can be a birth certificate (a copy is acceptable) with a government issued photo ID, an expired passport or any other item that proves citizenship.
They also told me that they have the authority to decide what is "proof of citizenship".
The post by othertonka above is correct. There is a lot of pressure being put on the government (and the politicians) that live in communities like tuckerin and I do, that are very close to the border. A lot of us cross often. My daughter (and many others) live in Quebec and work in NY State or vice versa. It doesn't sound like much, but spending $100+ each for adults and almost as much for kids is a significant expense to some, especially young families. They have responded by relaxing some of the deadlines that were imposed earlier.
After all this rambling, the answer to your question is no, you don't have to have a passport.
After saying that, I will tell you that if you or anyone you are close to is planning on visiting a country that requires a passport, you should get one. Some of our close friends' son was studying abroad a few years ago (pre 9-11). He was involved in an accident and his parents had to get a passport in a hurry. Luckily, they had some political connections and were able to get their passports quickly, but I'm not sure it could be done that quickly now.
My advice would be to get the passport. It's good for 10 years. It will probably cost you close to $150 each (after all the expenses), but it's worth it!
05 Ford F-350 Lariat CC 4X4 PSD DRW Line X Retrax
02 Montana Big Sky 3295 RK (2) Honda EU2000is
When my grown kids were inspecting our new fifth wheel, one asked why we bought a trailer that sleeps 4. My reply was that we couldn't find one that sleeps 2!
Offline
