U.S. Travelers Face New Passport Rules

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal


THE MIDDLE SEAT
By SCOTT MCCARTNEY

U.S. Travelers Face New Passport Rules

Restrictions on Re-Entry From Caribbean, Mexico, Canada
Mean Many Must Get Documents Soon
September 5, 2006; Page D1

The time to start packing for that winter trip to the Caribbean may be now -- you are going to need a passport. Congress and the Department of Homeland Security are tightening border procedures for both U.S. citizens and foreign travelers entering the U.S. By Jan. 8, passports will be required for most everyone entering the U.S. from the Caribbean, Canada and Mexico through airports and seaports, instead of just a birth certificate and driver's license. Land borders will adopt the same requirement Jan. 1, 2008.

The travel industry and several border-state governors and senators have been pushing for a delay in the new rules, fearing confusion and long delays for travelers that could hurt the cruise industry in particular. Only 25% of Americans have passports, and many could be left high and dry if they don't get one before they head off to an island cruise.

(snip)

One pitfall for travelers to watch out for: All children, including babies, will need passports. Since July 2001, the government has required both parents to apply together for a child's passport, if the child is 14 or under. This is to make sure one parent isn't trying to take a child out of the country without the other's permission. It can be a hassle for single parents who have to prove they have sole authority or need to get notarized consent from the other parent. Another change: Last month, the State Department began issuing electronic passports with a computer chip in the rear cover that contains all the information found on the data page of the passport, such as name, date of birth, passport number and a photograph. For security protection, the e-passports have a metallic material in the front cover and the data are encrypted to prevent eavesdropping. (People with older-style passports don't need to trade theirs in.)

Even if travelers are ready, travel experts say the government may not be well-prepared, and the result of the heightened security could be long lines at airports and seaports. The Travel Industry Association, a lobbying group for cruise lines, tour companies, resorts and airlines, says it supports the move to require better documentation, but it fears the government won't have the staff, equipment and procedures in place needed to process people quickly.

(snip)


URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115741283686853245.html (subscription)

[Kagemusha]

1. Actually travel to those countries has already dropped, I hear

and that's before the restrictions come in place, just from the chilling effect alone.

Thats' nothing compared to what's coming.

At least the US doesn't require a passport to travel from state to state like the USSR or something.

Yet.

[mmonk]

10. Tracking technology probably makes it unnecessary (like cell phones).

[woodsprite]

12. They won't use cell phones. They can use credit card info.

We drove from Delaware to North Carolina - a 6-8 hr drive with stops. We got gas, snacks, etc. - something in pretty much each state we drove thru. By the time we got to the beach and tried to pay the campground in North Carolina, we found our debit card had been turned off because of our purchasing so much across state lines in such a short time. That was MBNA for ya'. This is the 2nd year it's happened, though we stopped fewer places. We refuse to call and give them a 'heads up' that we're not going to be home.

[mmonk]

13. I had something similar thing happen to us

when my wife and sons went to Canada. I had to call the bank and let them know that they were indeed in Canada. Ironic that my bank is RBC Centura (Royal Bank of Canada). They automatically convert the currency when credit and debit cards are used.

[Psephos]

2. I hate the inconvenience and the bad economic effects, but...

...having better documentation at national borders makes sense if a country is serious about closing security holes.

I say this as someone who long has enjoyed driving through the tunnel between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

Peace.

[mark414]

3. free trade but not free travel?

take your NAFTA and shove it!

[longship]

4. May I see your papers, sir?

Sir, you need travel permit to enter Texas from Louisiana. It is against the law to travel without travel permit. Please stand still. You are under arrest.

[rockymountaindem]

5. How is this equivalent to an internal passport?

[TreasonousBastard]

6. This has nothing to do with keeping the bad guys out, but...

has everything to do with keeping us in. Or just keeping us scared.

And it is not new.

One trip to Europe shortly after the USSR fell apart, at the German, Dutch, Belgian, Czech, and Polish borders I just flashed the passport, if I even had to do that, and was welcomed in. The Czechs and Poles almost fell over themselves when they saw the US passport, probably thinking I might have money to spend.

It wasn't until I got back to Newark Airport when some prick from INS gave me the third degree about where I was since my passport was never stamped over there, not even at the airports. Only US stamps in it for my returns. I was biting my tongue to a bloody pulp trying not to tell him it was none of his fucking business what a US citizen was doing over there.

I got the runaround from the US side when I came back from Montreal last year, too.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

9. Wow, when I came back from Montreal after New Year's there was no

runaround at all.

There were five of us (all white, early 20s) packed into the car.

Customs checked our IDs then asked, "so were you guys studying up there?"
"Yeah, we were studying drinking."
"Sounds like you had a fun time. Do you have anything to declare?"
"We bought some liquor and a couple cartons of cigarettes."
"Okay, have a safe trip home."

It didn't seem like anybody was really getting checked more thoroughly than that. :shrug:

[TreasonousBastard]

11. I was the only car at the time, and I think...

he was just killing time on a slow day.

What really annoyed me was his tone of suspicion, as if anyone coming back alone at 7 AM must be up to something.

I hear that now there are checkpoints up and down the highway on the way to and from the border, allegedly looking for all those terrorists the Canadians are letting sneak in.

[no_hypocrisy]

7. One benefit: more Americans will have the option of escape to another

country if something like martial law looks imminent.

[Reader Rabbit]

8. Can I blame the new rules for the crappy-ass picture...

...on my new passport? I swear, I DON'T look that bad! Friggin' Bush Administration. Will they stop at nothing?

:P