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 Travel & Outdoors | March 2007 
Traveling to Mexico? Know the Law
 Brady McCombs - Arizona Daily Star
| | James Greenwell, 35, shows his U.S. passport to a Customs and Border Protection officer on arrival at Tucson International Airport from Hermosillo, Sonora. Citizens now need passports to return.
(James Gregg/Arizona Daily Star) |
The sandy beaches, warm weather and cold beer won't be any different for spring breakers heading to Mexico in the coming weeks, but some requirements for re-entry into the United States have changed.
U.S. citizens traveling to Mexico and back by airplane must have a valid and unexpired U.S. passport in accordance with new Department of Homeland Security requirements that went into effect Jan. 23.
Land and sea travelers still aren't required to carry a passport, but the message from Customs and Border Protection officials is clear — bring a passport and avoid the hassle.
"There are benefits to both sides," said Brian Levin, spokesman for Customs and Border Protection in Arizona. "For the traveler, it's going to make it quicker for them. And there are benefits for us because it's going to make it quicker and give us one document to prove citizenship and identity."
The passport requirement for air travelers is part of phase one of the Homeland Security Department's Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, following recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission. Congress passed the new requirements into law in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.
Land and sea travelers could be required to carry a passport as soon as Jan. 1 in phase two of the initiative. For now, they are only required to prove they are U.S. citizens or have proper documentation to enter the country. That includes being able to orally declare you are a U.S. citizen.
The iniatitive will reduce the burden on port officers who have to check as many 8,000 different identification documents from around the country under the current system. When the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is completely implemented, officers will have to check a U.S. passport or Passport Card, a credit-card-size document under development by the government that could be used for land and sea travel between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda.
The top destination for Arizona's spring break crowd is Rocky Point, said Adolfo Salido, promotions director at the Sonoran Office of Tourism in Hermosillo. Others go to Nogales for day trips and some go farther south to the beaches at Kino Bay, San Carlos and Guaymas, he said.
The most popular destinations by plane are Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Cancun and Ixtapa, said Diana Blind, of Bon Voyage Travel in Tucson. Acapulco has fallen off in popularity due to the violence there in recent years, she said.
What you need to know if . . .
1) You are going to Nogales and Agua Prieta for a day trip.
Travelers don't need any visas or car permits for day trips. They must only prove their citizenship or show legal documentation to be in the United States to Customs and Border Protection officers upon returning. You should purchase Mexican car insurance, though.
2) You are going to Puerto Peñasco, known as Rocky Point
You must stop at the border to tell Mexican immigration authorities where you are going and the purpose of the trip. After that, no stops are necessary. You don't need a car permit or visa. You do need Mexican car insurance.
3) You are going to Kino Bay, San Carlos of Guaymas
You must stop either at the border or at Kilometer 21 (whichever is more convenient) to get an immigration permit. It is free if you are going to be there for seven days or less and costs about $22 if you will be there for more than seven days.
No car permit is needed, thanks to the Only Sonora program, until you get about 15 miles south of Guaymas.
4) If you are flying to resort destinations farther away in Mexico such as Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Cancun and Ixtapa
Every U.S. citizen, including infants and children, is required to have a valid, unexpired U.S. passport to board flights to the United States. Legal permanent residents are required to show their I-551 permanent-resident "green card. " Airlines have the right to deny boarding without the proper documentation.
The U.S. State Department warns that bars and nightclubs in Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Acapulco and Tijuana can be havens for drug dealers and petty criminals.
Contact reporter Brady McCombs at 573-4213 or at bmccombs@azstarnet.com. |
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