Mexico, Canada Passport Change Proposed for Minors
Tuesday February 27, 2007
The US Department of Homeland Security, perhaps not unexpectedly, has proposed a change in passport rules affecting student travelers: while those over 18 must begin presenting passports at land and sea border crossings between Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, Bermuda and the US in 2008 or 2009, 15-under teens are to be exempt from the new requirement if traveling with parental consent, and 16-18 year olds will be exempt if traveling with public or private school groups, religious groups, social or cultural organizations or teams associated with youth athletics organizations and under adult supervision. All US teens under 18 entering the US without passports from the countries in question must carry official (with embossed state seal) birth certificates, as in the past.
The eventual availability of new passport "substitutes," like the PASS card, which was announced in November, was referenced in a DHS press release on the proposed teen passport regulations; DHS says the US Department of State will "...soon issue final regulations that will allow it to issue to U.S. citizens a lower cost alternative to a passport, the Passport Card." The PASS, which will be cheaper than a passport, may be ready when adult rules on passports and Canada / Mexico land and sea travel change sometime between January 1, 2008 and June, 2009.
Lobbying for a high-tech driver's license as a border-crossing document is also under way. Currently, US citizens may cross land and sea borders to and from the affected countries while bearing only a government-issued ID (like a driver's license) and proof of citizenship (like a US birth certificate) but must carry passports for air travel entry into the US. US territories are exempted from new passport rules that became effective January 23, 2007 requiring passports from those traveling by air.
The proposed teen passport exemption will eventually be open for public comment as part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative at www.regulations.gov.
Learn more about getting a US passport:
- Read About All Passport Rules and Changes
- How to Get Your First Passport
- How to Get a Passport Without a Birth Certificate
- Do-It-Yourself: How to Expedite a Passport Application
- PASS Passport Card Development Open for Comment
- Passport Deadline Extended -- Passport Legislation History
Comments
With implementation of the “Real ID” Act all U.S. citizens will in effect be carrying a passport(DL)which is interlinked in a data base with all other states and meeting the Fed regulations. Therefore requiring a passport for Mexico and Canada is redundant!