March 10th, 2010
One thing that everyone who travels in and out of the United States needs to know about is passport rules and regulations. While the previous laws allowed US citizens to travel to border countries with nothing more than a birth certificate or driver’s license, that is no longer the case. Today, a passport to Canada or Mexico is necessary whenever traveling.
Prior to 2009, entering and exiting the country to border countries was pretty easy. If the traveler had a driver’s license or birth certificate, they could pretty much come and go as they pleased. Circumstances have changed and travelers now need passports for destinations that never required it before.
The law changed in June 2009 and while it is a good thing, it has shaken up travelers who were unprepared for the new documents that are required. Today, any traveler that is moving in and out of the United States, even if only by land and heading to a border country such as Canada or Mexico, is required to have passport documentation. This is a delayed response to 9/11, but at least it has finally happened.
According to the government, these rules were put in place to tighten up our security and make the country a safer place. Previously, illegal immigrants would travel into Canada or Mexico and pass through the borders fairly easily. Driver’s licenses and birth certificates were fairly easy to forge and the new documentation makes it much more difficult to gain entry to the United States.
Although citizens of the country should understand this, for some reason they are more worried about convenience than they are safety. For many, the process of getting a passport to travel to a country that they used to drive into several times a month is a major issue. They think that it is just plain silly to have to carry a passport to Canada or Mexico.
The government continues to maintain that this measure is necessary to beef up our country’s security. However, they have also conceded that these new measures are quite different and know that people do not respond to change very well. For that reason, there are now different types of passport documentation that can be used to make things a little more convenient.
One such innovation is the new passport card. The passport card is a wallet-sized card that displays a person’s relevant passport information without the large passport stamp book. A passport card is a valid passport to Canada, Mexico and certain Caribbean Islands for land and sea travel. Passport cards are available to current passport holders for $20.
It is clear that rush United States passports will be required to enter border countries from now on. Given the obvious national security advantages, it seems quite unlikely that the U.S. government will have any reason to change these laws in the near future. Luckily, innovations like the United States Passport Card make the mandatory carrying of a passport to Canada and Mexico a bit more convenient.
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February 3rd, 2010
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative has called for a change in requirements for identification. In order to meet these changes a new type of identification - known as the ‘Passport Card’ came into being. This card-passport replaces the PASS card; known as the People Access Security Service Card. This will be a convenient and handy way to present the identification that the US Passport had furnished for many years.
The first passport cards became available for issue in July, 2008. The United States Department of State has not given an updated number of cards issued as of May, 2009. The US State Department estimates, however, that more than 1,000,000 cards have been issued.
Potential applicants to obtain the new passport card should be aware that it’s not suitable for all sorts of international travel. This is because the CAO fails to recognize this card to be used for such purposes. Too, the new passport card is available to citizens and nationals only who are living in the country legally with documentation.
There is a vicinity-read frequency identification chip included in each new passport card issues. The chip has a unique identification number that’s tied to governmental databases. It’s designed so that it’s readable at a distance. This chip will not have information about the MRZ except the identification number. The card is issued with a sleeve preventing the chip’s not being read while not in use. This card is in response to residents living in border communities needing a card that’s portable.
Another feature of the ‘REAL ID’ Act is that the card will be accepted by the federal government. It can be used in domestic air travel and for entering federal buildings. It is believed that this will be an alternative for people residing in the U. S. who possess ID cards or driver’s licenses that don’t comply. It’s also accepted by the TSA as identity at airport checkpoints.
The form, which establishes employment eligibility, also known as the I-9 form, will accept the new passport to prove eligibility to work in the United States. It is also noted that the card-passport provides identification as well as also authorizing eligibility to work in the U. S.
The renewed card will be valid for a period of ten years for adults 16 and over and five years for children under 16 years of age. The renewal fee is $20. The initial first-time applicant fee will include an additional $25 processing fee. First time applicants as adults need to pay $120.00. First time applicants as minors will pay $95.00.
Any adult who has a valid passport book can pay a fee of $20 in order to apply for the USA Passport card. A citizen or national is allowed to possess both the passport card and the booklet. In either form, it entitles the holder to apply for the other form (or both forms) as a ‘renewal’ by mail at the end of the period. Soon U S passport identification will be practical and at hand in a card! This will make traveling internationally much easier and this means less worry when traveling.
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