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New passport rules go into effect for air travelers
Story Highlights
. Rules apply to air travel between the U.S. and Mexico, Canada and the
Caribbean
. Only about a quarter of U.S. citizens hold valid passports
. Land and sea travelers will not have to show passports until 2008
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Americans flying to Mexico, Canada and the
Caribbean made sure to bring their passports Monday because of a new rule going
into effect Tuesday that requires them to show one to get back into the country.
Few glitches due to the new rules were reported Tuesday. [Full story]
Only about a quarter of U.S. citizens hold valid passports, and most
Americans are accustomed to traveling to neighboring countries with just a
driver's license or birth certificate, which have long been sufficient to get
through airport customs on the trip home.
The new regulations requiring passports were adopted by Congress in 2004
to secure the borders against terrorists.
Travelers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and other
airports said they had no complaints about the requirement.
"I'd rather be going through a security check, than possibly being blown
out of the air because of lack of security measures," John Golden of Columbus,
Georgia, who was headed to Cancun, Mexico.
Starting Tuesday, Canadian, Mexican and Bermudan air travelers, as well
as U.S. citizens flying home from those countries or the Caribbean, must
display their passports to enter the United States.
The only valid substitutes for a passport will be a NEXUS Air card, used
by some American and Canadian frequent fliers; identification as a U.S. Coast
Guard merchant mariner; and the green card carried by legal permanent
residents. Active members of the U.S. military are exempt.
For now, the rules affect only air travelers. Land and sea travelers will
not have to show passports until at least January 2008. Air travelers who
cannot produce a passport will be interviewed by customs agents, who will
decide whether to let them into the country.
The new rules do not apply to U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and
the U.S. Virgin Islands.
"We're not seeing a panic from travelers because we've been pretty
diligent in telling them for over a year that they need a passport. It's
written on any piece of paper we have going out," said AAA spokeswoman Teresa
Hildebrand.
Internet travel sites such as Expedia.com have posted warnings "in bold
with exclamation point," said company spokeswoman Erin Krause, adding that
agents followed-up with e-mails to customers traveling to the affected
destinations.
Canadian consulate officials in the U.S. reported fielding hundreds of
calls a day, most from the approximately 100,000 Canadian "snowbirds" who spend
the winter in Florida or Arizona and feared they might not be able to fly back
without passports, said Lawrence Barker, president of the Canadian Snowbird
Association. (They can, Barker said.)
The State Department issued a record 12.1 million passports in 2006 and
expects to issue 16 million more this year to meet the increased demand.
Mexican consulates are seeing a demand for passports three times higher
than usual in some offices. In San Francisco on Monday, the line of people
applying for passports at the Mexican consulate stretched around the block.
Cruz Garcia, a Mexican citizen living in Hayward, had been in line since
5 a.m.
"It seems important for the American government to know who comes and
goes," she said. She plans to visit her parents in Mexico this summer and wants
to be ready. "I don't want any glitches."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Find this article at:
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/01/23/new.passport.rules.ap
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