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.)