[Infowarrior] - Passports: The Clock Is Ticking for Winter Travelers

[Richard Forno]

January 14, 2007
Practical Traveler
The Clock Is Ticking for Winter Travelers
By MICHELLE HIGGINS
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/travel/14pracpassport.html?8dpc=&_r=1&oref
=slogin&pagewanted=print

MORE than a year ago, the federal government decided it was going to require
just about everyone entering the United States to present a passport ‹ even
American citizens coming back from trips just across the border. Confusion
ensued ‹ travel companies and border cities protested, start dates were
pushed back, and air and sea requirements were broken up and put on
different timetables. On Jan. 23, the first of the requirements is becoming
reality. If you¹re jetting off to Mexico or the Caribbean, you¹ll need to
pack a passport along with that bathing suit.

In fact, nearly anyone coming into the United States by plane ‹ including
Americans who have long returned with just a birth certificate or a driver¹s
license from Canada, Mexico, Panama and most Caribbean islands ‹ will need
to present a passport at the airport. Those who don¹t, the Department of
Homeland Security says, will have to go through secondary screenings to
verify their citizenship. No one has announced an estimate of how long those
screenings will take, but, inevitably, that extra step will cause delays.

It¹s a big change for Americans who were used to a warmer welcome home ‹
adults could get by with their usual government-issued IDs; children needed
just birth certificates. A 2005 study commissioned by the Caribbean Hotel
Association concluded that an estimated 80 percent of visitors from the
United States to Jamaica did not carry passports. Nor did roughly 30 percent
of Americans going to Antigua and Barbuda, 27 percent to Aruba and 15
percent to Curaçao.

Nearly three-quarters of all Americans ‹ 73 percent ‹ don¹t even have
passports, the State Department says. Some people are about to be getting
them in a hurry.

One thing to keep in mind: In an effort to make sure their customers don¹t
put off vacations just because they don¹t yet have passports, many hotels in
the Caribbean and Mexico are offering rebates to guests who will have to pay
fees to get them. The hotels include nine Marriott and Renaissance resorts
(www.paradisebymarriott.com/passport), nine SuperClubs
(www.superclubs.com/passport.asp) and 19 other hotels in Nassau and Paradise
Island in the Bahamas (www.Nassauparadiseisland.com).

Here is a guide to help you navigate the bureaucracy and get that passport
in time.

Your Trip Is in Eight Weeks

If all goes well, you¹ll have time to get your passport in the usual way ‹
processing an application typically takes six to eight weeks. But as the
demand for passports grows, wait times could increase. In December, one
million passport applications were processed, up 57 percent from the number
in December 2005. To help handle the work, the government has hired new
employees and added some new locations where people can file applications,
bringing the total to roughly 9,000. But no one really knows if this will be
enough. To apply for the first time, go in person to one of the many
passport acceptance facilities around the country, including many post
offices or libraries (you can find one by ZIP code at
www.iafdb.travel.state.gov), with two photographs of yourself; proof of
United States citizenship, like a certified birth certificate; and a valid
form of photo identification, like a driver¹s license. The fee is $97.

If you mostly travel between the United States and Canada, there is a $50
alternative: the Nexus card, issued to pre-screened travelers under a joint
program operated by the United States and Canada.

You¹re Leaving in Two Weeks

You can always pay an extra $60 for expedited service, which typically cuts
down waiting time to around two weeks. Be sure to clearly mark ³expedited²
on the envelope if you¹re mailing in your application, an option for adults
who are simply renewing passports. (Renewals cost $67.) And consider paying
for overnight delivery each way.

For faster service, make an appointment to go in person, with proof of
travel plans in hand, to one of 14 passport agencies in major cities,
including New York, Houston and Los Angeles, by calling (877) 487-2778. Your
passport could be issued that same day.

You¹re Leaving Tomorrow

Your best bet is to use a private rush service. For anywhere from $130 to
$200 on top of passport fees, these companies often can obtain passports in
as little as 24 hours. You¹ll still need appropriate documentation, and
you¹ll have to appear at a post office or other passport acceptance
location, but the service will speed up the processing time.

Rush companies have their limits, too. In recent years, some of the regional
passport agencies have reduced the number of daily submissions rush
companies are allowed, and some companies have had to turn applicants away.
But if the first one you call can¹t get you an appointment, there are many
others to choose from. For a list go to www.napvs.org. American Express
Vacations is working with It¹s Easy Passport and Visa Services in New York
to get its customers passports on the day of application, if necessary.
Cost: $179 to $200 on top of regular fees.

You¹re Leaving Next Year

Sure, you have plenty of time, but you might as well apply now. As early as
Jan. 1 of next year, American citizens traveling between the United States
and the rest of the Western Hemisphere by land or sea could be required to
present valid passports. While recent legislative changes permit a later
deadline, the State and Homeland Security Departments are working to meet
all requirements as soon as possible.

The change is expected to drive an even greater influx of passport
applications. By applying now, you¹ll avoid any potential backlogs.

For travelers who don¹t want to pay $97 for a first-time passport, the State
Department also plans to introduce a passport card, possibly by the end of
this year, good for travel by land or sea only to Canada, Mexico, the
Caribbean and Bermuda. Projected costs are $10 for children and $20 for
adults with a $25 processing fee for each.

What About the Kids?

If it¹s your children who need the passports, there are extra rules. To
apply for a passport for a child under 14, both parents must appear together
with the child to sign the application. If that¹s not possible, written and
notarized permission from an absent parent or another documented explanation
‹ like proof of sole custody of a child, an adoption decree or the death
certificate of a deceased parent ‹ must be supplied. Exact procedures are
set out at www.travel.state.gov/passport. Older teenagers with their own
government-issued IDs do not need a parent to accompany them to apply, but
parental consent may be requested. The fee is $82 for children under 16.