June 1st rule?!

[Caribbeanprincess]

Ok, my sister called in a panic saying she heard on the news that starting today she needed a passport to travel from PR to the US and she doesn't have one. We're going to Orlando next week on the 12th. Can someone clear this up for me? I'm confused?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Starting today everyone going into the United States by land or sea crossings needs a Passport. However ever since 2007 that rule has been in effect when flying into the United States from an international country.
http://www.getyouhome.gov/html/eng_map.html

 

[Caribbeanprincess]

But we're US territory. What I read this morning on Yahoo said only those entering from Canada or Mexico.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Here is a link to another article about this from CNN.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/06/01/us.canada.border.rules/index.html

 

[JoyG]

There are other things you can have like an enhanced drivers license...I know NY offers those. They're cheaper than passports.

Yes. Starting today you need a passport or enhanced drivers license or...there's one more thing and I forgot what it was...to get back into the United States.

You'll have no problem leaving, it's the getting back in that will be a problem.

But now that you mention it, I don't know if it applies to Puerto Rico.

 

[Caribbeanprincess]

We've never had problems traveling without a passport before. In fact, the island is called the 'no-passport required' one on commercials. My mother, I and my brother-in-law have passports, but my sister and her 3 children don't. How can I clear this out?

 

[CarolA]

Puerto Rico is part of the US

So you don't need a passport!

http://gocaribbean.about.com/b/2009/06/01/today-is-p-day-passport-day-in-the-caribbean.htm

As to how you find things like this out.... you got to the Dept of State website.

Here's what I found there

http://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/fact_sheet_passport_requirement.pdf

Travel Between the United States and U.S. Territories
WHTI will not affect travel between the United States and its territories. U.S. citizens traveling directly between the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa will continue to be able to use established forms of identification to board flights and for entry.

 

[Caribbeanprincess]

Thank you for clearing that up. I was trying to contact the TSA but they have no real contact number.

 

[dioxide45]

Thank you for clearing that up. I was trying to contact the TSA but they have no real contact number.

The TSA wouldn't be able to help any way. That is the Transportation Security Administration. They don't handle or employ immigration officers. That is handled by the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection which is also part of the Department of Homeland Security.

The problem is people will read a headline or hear part of a story and make broad assumptions, which in most cases are wrong. People also hear things from other people and stories always change and get better the more people they go through. Just see the thread about the name on a boarding pass having to match the ID used to check in. Better to go to the source for the facts.

 

[MAH4546]

Puerto Rico is in the U.S.

You don't need a passport to go to Florida, why would you need one to go to Puerto Rico?

However, if she is going on a cruise ship to/from Puerto Rico, which will include international stops, she needs a passport.

 

[tkldisney]

There is also the new passport card, (size of drivers' license) that you can use for land/sea travel to Canada, Mexico, Caribbean. You have to have full passport for international air travel.

 

[TheWog]

No Passport needed to/from Puerto Rico.

 

[Caribbeanprincess]

Thanks everyone. We won't be traveling by sea anytime soon, so that's not a worry for us.

 

[Caribbeanprincess]

The problem is people will read a headline or hear part of a story and make broad assumptions, which in most cases are wrong. People also hear things from other people and stories always change and get better the more people they go through. Just see the thread about the name on a boarding pass having to match the ID used to check in. Better to go to the source for the facts.

Yes, that's how my sister's confusion came about. Then I couldn't find anything online, but when I went to the local Department of State website I found my answer.

 

[kevgraub]

The problem is people will read a headline or hear part of a story and make broad assumptions, which in most cases are wrong. People also hear things from other people and stories always change and get better the more people they go through. Just see the thread about the name on a boarding pass having to match the ID used to check in. Better to go to the source for the facts.

And unfortunately, sometimes it is the media that does not have its fact straight when it puts a story out, which makes things even worse.

For instance, many media outlets completely blew the whole deal about airlines starting to collect middle names as of May 15 and were reporting that unless your ID exactly matched your boarding pass, you might not be allowed to board.