"Feds May Suspend New Border Rules To Ease Passport Crunch"

[Amlee]

To be fair, there are SOME people who did apply in time and at the time were told a 12 week backlog and now here 3 months later are still twiddling their thumbs. There are also some whom I know that had passports expiring in six months and did the renewal with more than enough time.

If you cannot meet demand, you do need to start making accomodations, IMHO. Then again I go back to letting people into the country that shouldn't be.

Oh, I agree the government wasn't prepared for the massive volume of applicates. But in the past 200 plus years when have they ever? When have things ever gone smoothly when the words U.S. Government is involved?

 

[bumbershoot]

(passport for those under 18 expire at 18 even if it isn't 10 years)

No they don't. Hubby got his last teenage passport around 16, it didn't expire until he was 21.

 

[bumbershoot]

We applied May 1 with travel plans in Dec. The thing that bothers me is that my one and only "official" copy of my birth certificate is out there in neverland. I just hope I don't need it anytime soon!

You can get another certified copy...certified copy = "original".

(passport for those under 18 expire at 18 even if it isn't 10 years)

No they don't. Hubby got his last teenage passport around 16, it didn't expire until he was 21.

 

[Fast Pass]

I don't understand where the backlog is. We were told in March we would have a 10 week wait. We got ours in 5.
Even my brother, who had his passport put on hold, had his in 7 weeks.

We aren't traveling until September but we went ahead and did the passports to get them out of the way.

I do find,after reading alot of message boards, that if you apply at a smaller city you often don't need to wait for an appointment you can just walk up and apply.

Anybody waiting until the last minute to apply, in my opinion, has no right to whine and complain that they don't have their passports or that they have to spend more money to have them expidited.

 

[mattmommy]

Our passports expire around May of 2008. We cruise in July. Right after that I'll send out for our renewal. Why wait until the last minute knowing someday I'll need them?

 

[Amlee]

I've copied this from the CB.

It seems this has now gone in effect for those of you worried about your passports. You can go to the link below and get what you need.

Okay wait for those of you who want to know, I JUST talked to my US State Representative's office and they said that I DO NOT need my passport or my birth certificate to fly to Cancun, Mexico. All I need to do is go to: https://passportstatus.state.gov/opss/OPSS_Status_i.asp and then print out the page that comes up with the passport locator number on it. Then bring that (I would make some copies) and my driver's license/photo I.D. to the airport. That will take care of both US and Mexico requirements.

Good luck!

Jessica

Now remember this only works for Mexico and Canada. If you have plans to go else where this doesn't apply to you.

 

[Amlee]

I just now got an email on this.

Today (Friday, June 8), the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Homeland Security Department announced new passport rules for Americans traveling to Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

Effective immediately, U.S. citizens traveling to these destinations who have applied for new or renewed U.S. passports -- but who have not yet received them -- may temporarily enter and depart the U.S.A. by air with two items in lieu of a valid passport:

1. A government-issued photo ID (e.g., a state driver's license)

2. Official proof of a passport application in process

These new temporary rules will remain in effect through Sept. 30, 2007.

Federal officials have taken this step due to the extraordinary delays and backlogs now being experienced with U.S. passport applications (which now require at least 12 weeks or more to process).

Notes:

1. To obtain the official proof of a passport application from the State Dept., your clients must go to this Web page and follow the instructions:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/status/status_2567.html

2. Children under the age of 16 traveling with their parents or legal guardians may travel with the child's proof of a passport application.

3. These rule changes may not be used as loopholes for travelers who have failed to apply for a passport as required. If you do not present the two items mentioned above -- the government-issued photo ID and the OFFICIAL proof of a passport application -- they will not be accommodated.

4. These new rules apply only to the destinations listed (Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico). Passport requirements for travel to and from other countries remain the same.

5. The State Dept. and the Homeland Security Dept. are still giving a start date of "as early as January 2008" for the new rules requiring passports for Americans returning from these regions by land or sea. (A firm date may be given within two weeks, when the departments file proposed regulations implementing these future rules.)

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT that you allow AT LEAST 12 WEEKS to apply for a new or renewed U.S. passport -- and, if possible, they should apply even earlier. This advice is critical if they plan to travel in these regions after the year-end 2007 holidays!

For more information, go to http://travel.state.gov or http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html.

 

[AhoyCaptainMickey]

thanks for the update

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Sorry but I don't agree with suspending anything. Folks have known long enough that passports were going to be needed and if they did not get them then let them stay home. Those waiting until the last minute to worry about this are now the ones paying for it. So be it. Very rarely does someone decide to go to Europe at the last minute. People plan for cruises years in advance.

Of course, our wonderful border patrol cannot seem to keep people out who aren't supposed to be allowed back in. *COUGH COUGH*

Then you have folks like my son *cough cough*...who were just born and had to wait for their birth to be recorded to get the birth certificate and wait for their SSC to arrive with their SSN so they could apply. . Of course that didn't keep me from procrastinating for a few weeks and having to fork over $60 to expedite and $33 for round trip express postage.

(just kidding!! I otherwise agree with you )

 

[Babs417]

Is this all for cruising or just flying out of the country?

 

[Amlee]

Is this all for cruising or just flying out of the country?

Flying

 

[LittleBlue22]

Updated: 8:49 p.m. ET June 7, 2007
Feds to suspend border passport rule
Proposal would ease passport crunch by temporarily waiving requirement
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19102766/

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is poised to suspend a major post-9/11 security initiative to cope with increasingly angry complaints from Americans whose summer vacations are threatened by new passport rules.

A proposal set to be announced as early as Friday will temporarily waive a requirement that U.S. passports be used for air travel to and from Canada and Mexico, provided the traveler can prove he or she has already applied for a passport, officials said Thursday.

The suspension in the rules is aimed at clearing a massive backlog of passport applications at the State Department that has slowed processing to a crawl, they said. Some officials said the change would last several months; others said as long as six months.

But the plan had run into opposition from the Homeland Security Department, which controls U.S. border points and fears the move could make it easier for terrorists or other undesirables to enter the country, the officials said.

Instead of a passport, travelers will now be able to present a State Department receipt showing their passport application is being processed, and a government-issued ID such as a driver's license.

Homeland Security signed off on the proposal on Thursday after consultations with the State Department, the White House and members of Congress, who have been deluged with complaints from furious constituents, according to four officials at the agencies involved.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not yet been announced.

"This is pre-decisional, and I have no comment," DHS spokesman Russ Knocke said.

Under the plan, those without passports would receive additional security scrutiny when they travel, which could include extra questioning or bag checks, according to one official familiar with the discussions.

The suspension will give the State Department time to deal with a surge in applications that has overwhelmed its processing centers since the new rules took effect earlier this year.

The backlog has caused up to three-month delays in issuing passports and ruined or delayed the travel plans of untold thousands of Americans.

Frustrated lawmakers besieged with constituent complaints have demanded relief.

 

[cruisinluver]

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html

The U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security announced June 8, 2007 that U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for but not yet received passports can nevertheless temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007. The federal government is making this accommodation for air travel due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand.

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) was mandated by Congress in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to strengthen border security and facilitate entry into the United States for citizens and legitimate international visitors. WHTI requirements for air travel took effect on January 23, 2007.

Adults who have applied for but not yet received a passport should present government-issued photo identification and an official proof of application from the U.S. Department of State. Children under the age of 16 traveling with their parents or legal guardian will be permitted to travel with the child’s proof of application. Travelers who have not applied for a passport should not expect to be accommodated. U.S. citizens with pending passport applications can obtain proof of application at: http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/status/status_2567.html .