Passport Information

1.  Passport Information
2.  Amended Passports
3.  Passport Services

1. Passport Information
ASTA Educates Travel Agents, Consumers on New Passport Regulations. Attention American travelers without passports, if you are planning on taking a Caribbean cruise or Canadian ski trip over Christmas and into the new year, you could find yourself stranded on the wrong side of the border.

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is changing the rules regarding how you re-enter the United States. The muscle behind this initiative, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, requires that by January 1, 2008, travelers to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada must have a passport or other secure, accepted document to enter or re-enter the United States.

This initiative affects anyone who will travel between the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Certain foreign nationals who currently are not required to present a passport to travel to the United States, most Canadian citizens, citizens of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and Mexican citizens will also be impacted.

The initiative will roll out in phases with advance notice before each phase so that the public can meet the terms of the new guidelines. The proposed timeline will be:

• December 31, 2006 - Requirement applied to all air and sea travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.
• December 31, 2007 - Requirements extended to all land border crossings as well as air and sea travel.

Currently, only a passport will be recognized as the document of choice for travel within the Western Hemisphere because of security features and general availability. However, other documents are currently being investigated as alternatives for land border crossings, such as the Border Crossing Card, (BCC - also known as "laser visa") which currently serves as an acceptable substitute for a passport and a visa for citizens of Mexico traveling to the United States.

Other documents that are also being considered are the Customs and Border Protection secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI), NEXUS, and Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program cards. The Departments of Homeland Security and State are using the latest technologies to secure these options and create other alternative documents, which they will make public as soon as they become available.

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative will not affect travel between the United States and its territories. U.S. citizens traveling to the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa will continue to be able to use established forms of identification to board flights and for entry. However, if your itinerary takes you out of United States territories, you will need a valid passport for re-entry beginning January 1, 2007.

2. Amended Passports
In an effort to bolster security, the State Department's Passport Services will no longer amend valid passports, effective September 26, 2005. Instead, passport holders requesting name changes, extension of validity for limited passports or correction of a printing error will have to apply for replacement passports using a U.S. Passport Re-Application Form (DS 5504) or an Application for Passport by Mail (DS-82). Forms are available at http://travel.state.gov/passport

3. Passport Services
Using these sites, you have access to a wealth of reliable and up-to-date travel information - on-line - to anyone needing details of immigration requirements of any country in the world. The databases of these real time systems are updated throughout the day, whenever required. The user can access the information rapidly thanks to a minimum of graphics.

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