Travel & Places Other - Destinations

What Travel Passports Are Needed For Western Hemisphere Trips?

Border security in the Western Hemisphere is about to get a lot tougher.
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) takes effect on June 1, 2009, but people planning to travel to and from the US, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and most Caribbean countries are urged not to wait until then to update their travel documents.
Airline travelers have been accustomed to carrying and using a full passport on international trips.
This new initiative will be felt by travelers when they return home and are required to have proper documentation to be allowed back in the country.
Even when traveling by air to and from Canada and the US, for a long time all that was required was a birth certificate and a current driver's license.
It wasn't that long ago that travelers crossing into or returning from Canada on foot or by train or car at certain places were not even stopped.
After June 1st, a full passport will the travel document preferred by all countries involved in the initiative.
Proper travel documents will be required regardless of the mode of transportation used; air, car, train boats and pedestrian travelers will all be expected to comply.
  Ironically, the people who cross the US, Canadian and Mexican borders most often are the ones who most frequently don't have full passports.
After 9/11, security at all US borders was tightened and congestion has become critical at many larger crossing points on both the Mexican and Canadian borders even though traffic coming in to the US both north and south has dropped dramatically.
In 2000, 90 million people traveled by car to the US from Canada and 240 million came from Mexico.
In 2007 those numbers were 58 and 165 million respectively, yet the time to clear customs had increased dramatically because so many people did not have proper forms of identification.
After June 1st, US citizens trying to reenter the country after visiting one of the other 19 countries taking part in the initiative will need to have either a full passport, a passport card, or another travel document approved by the Department of Homeland Security to enter the country.
Some of those "other documents" include a trusted traveler program card like a NEXUS (Northern Boarder Program) a SENTRI (Southern Border Program) card or a FAST (Free and Secure Trade program) card.
Military IDs and travel papers, enhanced drivers licenses, Merchant Mariner documents and North American tribal documents are also acceptable.
The new passport card issued by the State Department might be enough if all you plan to do is travel within the WHTI countries.
They are good for 10 years for adults and five years for children and are half the cost of normal, full passports, but they are not valid for international air travel.
Currently four states - Arizona, New York, Vermont and Washington - have begun issuing enhanced driver's licenses for people who frequently cross the border.
The cards are similar to the automated tollway cards.
All passengers in a vehicle use a special lane when crossing the border and hold the cards up to be scanned by a reader on the driver's side of the car.
Regardless of the type of document you think you might need for your next trip within the WHTI area, the US State Department is cautioning people to get it well in advance of travel for the next few months.
They say travelers should expect it to take several weeks to receive their passports while everyone catches up to the new requirements.

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