Passports

The changing passport requirements coming from the State Department continue to consume a lot of energy in our business. We still receive many calls from travelers confused about the requirements, but we see that it isn’t going to get less confusing going forward. The original goal of the change was to phase into requiring passports for all travelers coming into the US. This was to improve border security (and that makes sense). Prior to January, 2007, travelers to Mexico, Canada, and many Caribbean destinations did not need passports. This year, air travel to all destinations began to require passports. Next year sea and land travel would have also been included. However, because the State Department was unable to accommodate the increase in passport applications for this first phase, there have been short-term adjustments in the policies and that is what is creating the confusion. However, the long and the short of it is—within the next two or three years (depending upon how many readjustments there are going forward), everyone will need a passport to come back into the US. Why not get it now?

More Passport Clarification

We have been fielding a huge number of calls in the last three days about the passport regulations. People continue be confused. The key is to remember that the government needs to be able to guarantee that the person traveling is who they say they are and that they are an American citizen. Nothing has changed for any destinations but Canada, the Bahamas, the Caribbean or Mexico. Those were the places impacted by the changes implemented by the State Department in January, 2007 and are causing the backlog.

If you are planning to travel to one of those places, you still need to apply for a passport well in advance of your departure. If your passport doesn't come in time, you can download confirmation that you applied off of the State Department website. You can show that along with a government issued picture ID (driver's license) and official state issued birth certificate (usually with a raised seal) in lieu of a passport. We hear rumors that a notarized document attesting to your citizenship will work, but I am skeptical. In my experience, the government has rules and they adhere to them. It is safer to follow them exactly.

The key here is that it will take four weeks for the record of the application to appear on the government website. If you have expedited your passport, it will still take a week. This means that it will not be possible to apply and fly the next day. I keep wondering why more people don't apply before they know they want to go anywhere to avoid these problems. If you get a passport now you can avoid expeditors fees and then you will be able to take advantage of any opportunities that come along.

Passports and Child Support

The change in policy by the United States government beginning last January that Americans returning to the country by air must all have passports has caused big headaches for some people. Now, if you are leaving the US, you must have a passport and that means planning ahead because the turn-around time for passport applications is running between eight and twelve weeks or more. And, we have had several incidents in the office where people applied for passports and booked travel out of the country but were then denied their passport because they were behind on their child support. Our clients then had to come back in the office to change to a destination inside US borders while they straighten out their legal obligations. In addition, the penalties for changing the itinerary will apply unless they have travel insurance. It can be very expensive and disappointing for everyone.