[Infowarrior] - Americans Need Passports at All U.S. Borders Starting Monday

[Richard Forno]

Americans Need Passports at All U.S. Borders Starting Monday
The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
, 2009-05-30
By Scott Stephens, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/05/30/passports.html

May 30--Driving to Niagara Falls?

Unless you plan to stay on the U.S. side, you'll need a passport.

As of Monday, U.S. citizens crossing into Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or  
the Caribbean by any means -- land, water or air -- must have a  
passport or a secure-identity card designed for the purpose.

The latest rule change, requiring a passport for land and water border  
crossings, is the last phase of a 2004 law meant to curb the risk of  
terrorism.

Border crossings by air have required a passport of anyone 16 or older  
since June 2007. (Children younger than 16 can present a birth  
certificate or other proof of citizenship as identification.)

The rules as a whole have been plagued by delays and false steps.

A surge of applications flooded passport-service agencies in 2007 when  
the rules for air travel changed. The requirement was delayed for six  
months as the government processed the backlog.

Since then, Americans have had ample time to digest the rules for land  
and water crossings; they were scheduled to take effect last year but  
also were postponed.

Laura Tischler, spokeswoman for the State Department, said the  
government has made great efforts to avoid the problems of 2007.  
"We've increased our passport-issuance capacity by 90 percent,"  
Tischler said. "We've increased our staffing; we've opened new  
facilities, including passport agencies in Detroit and Minneapolis;  
and have plans to open an additional agency in Dallas."

Passport applications peaked at 18.3 million in fiscal year 2007,  
falling to 16.2 million last year. Applicants with Ohio addresses  
received 404,000 passports last year.

Through April, the federal government had received 7.1 million  
applications in the current fiscal year.

A first-time application for a passport takes six to eight weeks to  
process. The application fee is $97. Expedited processing is available  
at an additional charge.

The government has also introduced a cheaper "passport card" (the size  
of a driver's license) for use at the Canadian and Mexican borders and  
for seaport entries from Bermuda and the Caribbean. The card costs $45  
for first-time passport applicants.

"We encourage everyone, even people who aren't traveling this summer,  
to get a passport," Tischler said. "It's good for 10 years, and it's  
always good to have."

Canadian tourism officials don't expect major problems because of the  
new U.S. regulations, said Mark Thompson, a spokesman for the Ontario  
provincial Ministry of Tourism.

"Are we worried?" he said. "The bottom line is, not particularly, no."

Some destinations hope to benefit from travelers who are reluctant to  
apply for a passport.

The U.S. Virgin Islands has a marketing campaign under way touting the  
fact that U.S. citizens can visit that U.S. territory without a  
passport.

Most travelers do seem aware of the new requirements, said travel  
agent Ike Reynolds of Reynolds Travel in Columbus.

"I know a few people who have been getting by on cruises without a  
passport, but they knew the new rules were coming," he said.

"And every time you come to a deadline, some people will wait until  
the last minute. The question everyone wanted to know was: How soon  
were (the changes) really going into effect?"

For detailed information about the passport-application process or the  
law, go to www.travel.state.gov/passport or www.ontariotravel.net.

sstephens at dispatch.com

-----