Passport Restrictions Waived for Some
Saturday June 9, 2007
The Bush administration announced June 8 that new passport rules have been modified because the passport restrictions which began January 23 have resulted in such a massive backlog of passport applications. Until September 30, you may travel under old passport rules if your passport is pending -- 
that means you've applied for a passport and are waiting for the passport to arrive.
Ther new passport rules which went into effect in January required that all citizens present a passport upon return by air to the US from Mexico, the Caribbean, Canada, Panama and Bermuda. The recently announced modification will allow travelers to instead provide government issued photo ID and a Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007.
It was no surprise to anyone when passport backlogs began to build (except those who made the rules, apparently) -- US residents have always been able to travel between the North American countries affected by passport changes with just a driver's license or other government photo ID and a birth certificate, and many were caught unaware. When the next phase of the new passport rules takes place sometime in 2008 or 2009 (read "House says Delay, DHS Says No Way"), which will be the requirement of passports for land border crossings between Mexico and Canada, some real pileups are going to happen in the processing of passports. Apply for a passport now and really do avoid the inevitable incredible bottleneck that will happen then.
Similar stuff: How to Get a Passport Without a Birth Certificate | Passport News | What documents do I need for travel?
Photo: Kathleen Crislip
that means you've applied for a passport and are waiting for the passport to arrive.
Ther new passport rules which went into effect in January required that all citizens present a passport upon return by air to the US from Mexico, the Caribbean, Canada, Panama and Bermuda. The recently announced modification will allow travelers to instead provide government issued photo ID and a Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007.
It was no surprise to anyone when passport backlogs began to build (except those who made the rules, apparently) -- US residents have always been able to travel between the North American countries affected by passport changes with just a driver's license or other government photo ID and a birth certificate, and many were caught unaware. When the next phase of the new passport rules takes place sometime in 2008 or 2009 (read "House says Delay, DHS Says No Way"), which will be the requirement of passports for land border crossings between Mexico and Canada, some real pileups are going to happen in the processing of passports. Apply for a passport now and really do avoid the inevitable incredible bottleneck that will happen then.
Similar stuff: How to Get a Passport Without a Birth Certificate | Passport News | What documents do I need for travel?
Photo: Kathleen Crislip
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