This just in from the State Dept. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Acto fo 2004 requires that by January 1, 2008, travelers to/from Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada will be required to have a passport or other secure, accepted document to enter or re-enter the U.S. The Administration is proposing a timeline for implementation which will be published in the Federal Register in the near future.

This is a chance from prior travel requirements and will affect all U.S. citizens entering the U.S. from countries within the Western Hemisphere who do not currently possess valid passports. This new requirement will also affect certain foreign nationals who currently are not required to present a passport to travel to the U.S. Most Canadian citizens, citizens of the British Overseas Terrority of Bermuda and to a lesser degree, Mexican citizens will be affected by the implementation of this requirement.

No, the American economy will be affected most by this requirement.

We'll just travel elsewhere!!

Cross-border shopping trips...forget it!!

forgive my lack of knowledge here but are there still countries that do not require passports for entry and exit? and obviously the us will not issue passports to any non us citizens, so how would this alter canadian shopping? i live near bangor, maine and know that many canadians do come here so i am really curious??

I suggest going to the site Travel.State.Gov and reading the entire info on passport requirements. The 2008 date if for full compliance, with phase in dates. Example, the proposed date for Carib travel is Jan 1 2006. It is misleading to think everyone has "time" to wait til 2008 to get a passport!
Sorry, we get so many posts about whether we need one, when do we need one etc., all U/S'ers should research by going to the government site and reading it all!!
There, I feel better now Carol

IMPORTANT TIP: Based on a recent guest's experience, it is wise to photocopy cover and every page of your passport and keep copies in separate location with you on trip. Should you lose your passport, you will have lots of problems at departure where there is a not-so-subtle racial discrimination in play:whites with driver's license but lost passport get thru;blacks with same, even when travelling with family, do not. Necessitating a trip to the consulate in MoBay, or, if the man in charge is on vacation or out of town,which frequently happens, a trip to the U.S. Embassy in Kingston -- and then back to MoBay to get out. Forewarned is forearmed.

Let's clarify 2 things about the passport requirement. First, the passport requirement for travelers to the Caribbean and Bermuda will probably go into effect now on January 1, 2007, one year later than January 1, 2006, as originally planned; only the requirement for Mexico and Canada will be pushed back to January 1, 2008. Since this is a Caribbean forum, I don't want readers to get the idea that travelers to the Caribbean have until 2008 to get a passport. You'll have to get a passport by the end of 2006.

Second, this isn't official yet, though I think it's very likely that the extension will happen. It's been discussed for a long time now.

Thanks for the heads up on this. We travel to St. Croix annually with our kids and will now look into the details.

One caution, however. We almost had trouble getting our kids OUT of St. Croix last February because we didn't have a passport for them. We had never had this problem before and our own drivers licenses were enough for us. The AA checkin woman was very obnoxious about it saying that we would not get home (which wasn't very kind given that our 8 and 10 year old kids were standing right there and now VERY worried they'd be left behind). The customs agent clearly would have liked to have seen a passport for each kid; however, he did let us through after ask quite a few questions. You could see that he was entering the info on the kids in the records for us on the computer. He said the problem they are trying to avoid is kidnappings--how did they really know that our kids were our kids?

We appreciated his care and attention and went on our way. Interestingly, when we arrived in Miami and were about to deplane, they told everyone that they would have to show picture i.d. as they left the jetway. In six years of travelling to St. Croix that has never happened. The gate agent said they do it when they have reason to believe that there is a runaway or kidnapped kid on board. We were whisked right through so they clearly knew who they were looking for.

So if you're travelling even to the USVI, bring picture i.d. for your kids!

What I don't understand is why so many Americans are so reluctant to get a passport. Even if you don't "technically" need it for Canada, Mexico, Caribbean - it makes your travel life tons easier. I have had one since about age 17 and would NEVER dream of not having it. I've stood in immigration lines watching folks have birth certificates, marriage licenses, etc scrutinized, held up to the light, fingered for raised seals - it can take 15-20 minutes to get thru particularly if you look at all "suspicious" {whatever that means today} - but if you have a passport - run it thru the scanner and go. Yet we see every day on this board, people wanting to know - do we "need" it, can't we go without it, what happens if I don't have one, and so on.

Why are we so fearful of getting the passport? As Nike says - just do it!!

Amen!!

Ditto to what tigerhawk says! I would never think of traveling to a foreign country without a passport. It makes going through immigration so much easier. Besides Passports are not all that expensive and if you amortize the cost over their 10 year useful life it comes to less than $10US per year. Yes, I know some will say that's only for one person and getting passports for a family of 4 or 5 makes it a significant part of a vacation budget but that's only for the first trip. After that there's no added expense for another 10 years.

Just to confirm....we are not reluctant to get a passport for our kids and travel with it. We were simply very surprised that we needed one in the United States Virgin Islands and did not think to bring one.

For the record, children need to get their passports renewed every five years including a new picture. So there's a hassle factor. But you are right, I prefer the hassle at home rather than on the road.

Great post, Tigerhawk. It's a regular occurance to see people denied boarding these days because they aren't using the correct copy of a BC. I just don't get why anyone would chance this.

To add to Tigerhawk's post: We were on our way to Mexico this past June and the airline agent breathed a sigh of relief when he saw our passports (including our toddler's) and thanked us for having one. When we asked why, he went on a mini-rant (in a nice way) about how many people are still refusing to get passports post-9/11, even though they're traveling outside the U.S. They're making it more difficult for everyone else, check-ins longer, the lines longer, etc, etc...
It was only 7:30am.

Some of us are NOT world travelers and we find these forums to give a little advice.I think that is why so many people DON'T travel is because they just don't know.Many people haven't been out their hometown much less anywhere to need a passport.I think a little kindness would go a long way.

If you took the time to find this post and read through the wise advice it provides, why did you bother to post a new thread ?

Nobody is being unkind, it's simply the reality of travel today.

I would think that with the stress and expense of planning a "weddingmoon", getting a passport would be on your *to do* list.

Then, no worries for ten years. You could leave the country to celebrate your anniversary !

Best wishes !

Marion

harleysangel - with all due respect the kindest thing any of us who do travel can do for you is to tell you the truth. The truth is that it is close to foolish to plan to travel outside of the US without a passport. Every vacation we've been on for the past several years we've seen people - sometimes whole families - sometimes just Dad or Mom - denied boarding the airplane on the morning of travel because they don't have the proper documentation as in their birth certificate doesn't have a raised seal, isn't the kind the boarding agent wants to see, etc. All of this will be avoided with a US passport. If I have come across as "not nice" in either of my posts to you I totally apologize. Best of luck with your plans for your weddingmoon!

Having a passport is just one of those conveniences like having a driver's license. Yes, it costs money, but it's really worth it IMO. Just imagine, the next time you get an opportunity to travel, even if it's just to Mexico or Canada, it will be much easier. Also, it is a useful additional personal ID. Re: the need for a passport for even the USVI is based upon the fact that these islands are still a gateway to the United States. In this post-9/11 world, it's such a small price to pay for more scrutiny at our borders.

Thanks for EVERYONES input.We are getting a passport.It will be much easier if we travel to other places.I have found out this is a very touchy topic.Thanks again I'll be back after March 2006 an let ya know how everything went.

I also don't understand why people don't want to get passports. When I went on my first overseas vacation as an adult and got my passport, I was so excited and couldn't wait to start getting stamps on it from different countries. I was not "well off" at that time either. For my passport picture I got all dolled up, fixing my hair and makeup really nice. I was very happy with the passport when I got it. About 5 years later I realized the mistake I made with looking too glamorous on my passport picture. As I got older and traveled more, I tended to wear my glasses on the plane and wear minimal makeup since the flights were usually in the early AM hours. Once in Jamaica the airport person looked at me then at my picture and made me take off my glasses. I managed to convince him that marriage ages someone but I was nervous. LOL!! If you are reluctant to get a passport, I say go for it, but make sure you look like you do on a daily basis!