U.S. Congressman John Boozman 3rd District of Arkansas

Passports

Passport Requirements have changed, make sure you have the proper documents when leaving the country

Requirements for Americans traveling to Mexico and Canada are changing and I want to make sure you have all the information you need to make your trip as enjoyable as possible.

You may remember in 2007 new guidelines were implemented requiring all Americans to have a passport if entering the country by air. As of June 1, 2009, the U.S. implemented the full requirements of the land and sea phase of the Western Hemisphere Transportation Initiative (WHTI) that requires all citizens entering the country at sea or land ports to have the proper documentation as approved by the Department of Homeland Security.

This means you can show a valid U.S. passport to enter or re-enter the United States when traveling via air, land or sea from Canada, Mexico, 17 countries in the Caribbean, and Bermuda.

A passport isn’t difficult to get. If you are getting a passport for the first time you must go to a passport acceptance facility. There are thousands around the country including many local Post Offices. To learn more about what facility is closest to you click here. A passport can cost up to $160 depending on your age and how quickly you need it but is valid for ten years.

Passports aren’t for everyone. If you like to vacation on cruise ships in the Caribbean, you may consider a fairly new government document called the U.S. Passport Card. Within the last ten months the Department of Homeland Security began issuing passport cards, a wallet-size travel document that can only be used to re-enter the United States at land border-crossings or sea ports-of-entry from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda

The card provides a less expensive, smaller, and more convenient alternative to the passport book for those who travel frequently to these destinations by land or by sea.

Production of the U.S. Passport Card began on July 14, 2008. As of February 18, 2009, Passport Services has received over 900,000 applications for the U.S. Passport Card and over 850,000 Passport Cards have been issued to U.S. citizens.

For children, having a Passport or a Passport Card will allow them entry into the U.S., but WHTI also allows U.S. citizens under 16 years of age to present the original or copy of their birth certificate or other proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a naturalization certificate or citizenship card. Groups of U.S. citizen children ages 16 through 18, when traveling with a school or religious group, social organization, or sports team, will be able to enter under adult supervision with originals or copies of their birth certificates or other proof of citizenship.

It is a necessary precaution that we must require citizens to present a passport on return to the U.S. This is a plan developed by the U.S. Secretaries of Homeland Security and State and is intended to make our country safer. This stricter policy may force you to take one more step to preparing your vacation, but think of this as a hurdle to a more secure America. 

Check the Status of Your Application

Click here, to learn more about the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.