Passport Restrictions Being Loosened
This just in from the Department of Homeland Security…
The Bush administration is expected to announce on Thursday that it will exempt children from new rules that will require people to show passports when entering the U.S. at land or sea borders.
In case you haven’t heard, new passport restrictions that went into effect in late January require a passport when entering this country from North, Central, or South America as well as the Carribean (and Bermuda). Previously, U.S. and Canadian citizens were allowed to enter the U.S. from select countries if they presented a birth certificate or driver’s license, and some Mexicans could enter without a passport if they had a special border crossing card.
Under the expected announcement, kids 15 and under will be allowed to cross the borders at land and sea entry points with a certified copy of their birth certificates rather than passports. Moreover, kids aged 16-18 traveling with school, religious, cultural or athletic groups and under adult supervision will be allowed to travel with only their birth certificates.
Children entering the U.S. by air will still have to show passports, which means that the passports that we just applied for on behalf of our kids won’t go to waste…
[Source: NPR]
(Hat tip to my lovely and talented wife for finding this.)
Articles via RSS
Just because you don’t need the passports doesn’t mean that that won’t make the whole process smoother and easier anyway.
Comment by Blaine Moore — Feb 22nd 2007 @ 2:57 pmThere are some great travel deals to places where you previously didn’t need a passport – these countries are expecting a huge tourist slowdown and are trying to lure people. If you have the free time to travel, this is a good time…
Comment by saving advice — Mar 1st 2007 @ 9:59 am