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 Travel & Outdoors | October 2006 
Passports Needed Starting Jan. 8 to Fly into US from Mexico and Canada
 Dane Schiller - San Antonio Express
| | State Department officials are reminding Americans that they soon will need U.S. passports to fly into the United States from Mexico or anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. |
State Department officials are reminding Americans that they soon will need U.S. passports to fly into the United States from Mexico or anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere.
In less than 100 days, Americans no longer will be able to re-enter the United States by air with just a driver's license or an aging copy of a birth certificate.
"It is all part of the increase in security measures," said a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman in Mexico City, noting that a passport "is an official document to show that whoever is coming is actually who they say they are."
The new rules - which take effect Jan. 8 - are not expected to affect business travelers, who generally have passports. But they will require more preparation for casual travelers, especially those in the vacation and spring-break crowds that flock mostly without passports to places such as Cancun and the Caribbean.
Part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, the rules will not affect land border crossings - yet.
But no later than June 2009, all Americans entering the United States by land or by sea must present U.S. passports or an equivalent document.
Cancun is not waiting. American visitors to the beach resort are being handed fliers that look like dollar bills. They include information on contacting the U.S. State Department to initiate the passport application process.
The resort also is working with an Orlando public relations firm and is publishing information in tourist magazines and on the Internet.
Susan Carrillo, general manager of Alamo Travel Group in San Antonio, recommended against waiting until the last minute.
"We have been advising people for a year now that if they plan to travel by air to these countries, they should go ahead and get a passport," Carrillo said. "I don't really see it as being a huge hardship on people."
The State Department issued a record 12.1 million passports in the 12-month period that ended in September and expected to issue 16 million in the next 12 months.
There are about 5,000 passport acceptance offices in the United States, including post offices and courthouses. The process generally takes four to six weeks when done through the mail and costs $97.
On the Web: The new rules will not affect land crossings. More information is available on the State Department's Web site at www.travel.state.gov or by calling (877) 487-2778. |
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