Deadline for New Passport Requirement Around the Corner
 PVNN
| | Beginning January 8th, United States residents planning to take a Caribbean cruise or fly off for a Mexican vacation now must remember to pack something extra their passports. |
United States residents planning to take a Caribbean cruise or fly off for a Mexican vacation now must remember to pack something extra their passports.
Beginning January 8th, under new federal regulations, all residents must have passports to travel by air or sea to the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Canada, Mexico, and all of Central and South America.
Previously, drivers licenses and birth certificates were sufficient to visit many neighboring countries. Now, though, without a passport, passengers going to or coming from these areas via plane or ship will be denied, since passports will be required for all international air and cruise travel.
Stricter border-crossing requirements are scheduled to be extended to all land border crossings on Dec. 31, 2007, said Kolich. However, according to the Associated Press, this plan to require passports or tamper-resistant identification cards likely will be delayed.
On Monday House and Senate lawmakers agreed to push back the program 17 months (until June 2009) to make sure new ID cards being developed by the Bush administration will be able to better secure borders without slowing legitimate travel to and from Canada and Mexico. According to the AP story, the Bush administration is planning to require border crossers to show passports or a cheaper alternative, dubbed a PASS card, which is still being designed. But technology to read the cards, as well as security standards to make sure they work, is not ready. |
Vallarta Weddings
Travel & Outdoors | September 2006 
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