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| Newspaper article |
If you're heading out of the country and expect to return after June 1 (2009), it's time now to make sure your documents comply with the
tightened requirements that will apply. Those tightened requirements focus on re-entry by land or sea from countries participating in the
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) program (Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, including the Bahamas, and Mexico).
To enter those countries and cross the border back to the United States you will need either:
-- A U.S. passport – the traditional, all-purpose document for international travel.
-- A passport card – the new credit-card-size ID, valid for travel to/from only countries in the WHTI program. It is issued by the U.S.
State Department; it's a less expensive alternative for travelers interested mainly in cross-border travel by car or foot.
-- An enhanced driver's license (EDL) – the updated, high-tech version of a conventional driver's license that requires proof of
citizenship as a condition of issue. (Only New York and Washington issue these now.)
-- An ID from one of the “Trusted Traveler” programs.
This rule has two prominent exceptions:
-- Children under age 18 without the documents required for adults will be able to enter or return from WHTI participating countries
with any accepted proof of citizenship, including birth certificate or citizenship card.
-- Cruise ship passengers on “closed loop” itineraries (cruises that begin and end at the same U.S. port) can enter or leave with a
birth certificate or government-issued photo ID. (You may, however, need a U.S. passport to disembark at some ports.)
-- Air travelers arriving from any foreign country, including those in the WHTI program, will see no changes: You need a passport;
the passport card won't do. This requirement applies to travelers of any age, including children and even infants. The only
exceptions are for active-duty military personnel, merchant mariners, travelers with NEXUS cards, and permanent residents – groups
with their own specific ID requirements.
For more detail on any border-crossing documentation issues, log onto the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Web site at cbp.
gov/xp/cgov/travel.
tightened requirements that will apply. Those tightened requirements focus on re-entry by land or sea from countries participating in the
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) program (Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, including the Bahamas, and Mexico).
To enter those countries and cross the border back to the United States you will need either:
-- A U.S. passport – the traditional, all-purpose document for international travel.
-- A passport card – the new credit-card-size ID, valid for travel to/from only countries in the WHTI program. It is issued by the U.S.
State Department; it's a less expensive alternative for travelers interested mainly in cross-border travel by car or foot.
-- An enhanced driver's license (EDL) – the updated, high-tech version of a conventional driver's license that requires proof of
citizenship as a condition of issue. (Only New York and Washington issue these now.)
-- An ID from one of the “Trusted Traveler” programs.
This rule has two prominent exceptions:
-- Children under age 18 without the documents required for adults will be able to enter or return from WHTI participating countries
with any accepted proof of citizenship, including birth certificate or citizenship card.
-- Cruise ship passengers on “closed loop” itineraries (cruises that begin and end at the same U.S. port) can enter or leave with a
birth certificate or government-issued photo ID. (You may, however, need a U.S. passport to disembark at some ports.)
-- Air travelers arriving from any foreign country, including those in the WHTI program, will see no changes: You need a passport;
the passport card won't do. This requirement applies to travelers of any age, including children and even infants. The only
exceptions are for active-duty military personnel, merchant mariners, travelers with NEXUS cards, and permanent residents – groups
with their own specific ID requirements.
For more detail on any border-crossing documentation issues, log onto the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Web site at cbp.
gov/xp/cgov/travel.
| Plan ahead for stricter re-entry rules |
| San Diego Union Tribune |
| March 29, 2009 |
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