drag n' fly
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Hopefully most Canuckies know this already. If you don't here is the latest info from today.
New U.S. air travel passport laws kick in Jan. 23
Passport law kicks in Jan. 23
CTV.ca News Staff
Wed. November. 22 2006 5:34 PM ET
Virtually anyone flying to the United States will need a passport as of January 23, a deadline that is a few days later than initially planned.
The security measure was supposed to go into effect in early January but U.S. officials have been slow to finalize details of the plan.
Visitors from most countries in the hemisphere are already required to show passports.
However, U.S. citizens, travellers from Canada and Bermuda, and some travellers from Mexico who have special border-crossing cards for frequent visitors were allowed to show other proofs of identification, such as drivers' licences or birth certificates.
"The ability to misuse travel documents to enter this country opens the door for a terrorist to carry out an attack," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a statement on Wednesday.
"We can not continue to allow loopholes that could facilitate access to the United States through false claims of citizenship or fake identities," he said.
Chertoff said the rules strengthen border security by designating verifiable secure documents that may be used at ports of entry.
There are more than 8,000 different state and local entities in the United States alone that issue birth certificates and driver's licenses.
Border officers face the challenge of assessing the authenticity of these documents, said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statement.
According to DHS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted more than 75,000 fraudulent documents in the fiscal year of 2005 and apprehended more than 84,000 individuals trying to cross the border with fraudulent claims of citizenship or documents.
In some cases, other documents still may be used for air entry into the U.S. by selected frequent travellers between the U.S. and Canada, members of the American military on official business and some U.S. merchant mariners.
The MMD or "z-card" is issued by the U.S. Coast Guard to U.S. merchant mariners and the NEXUS Air card is issued to citizens of Canada and the United States, lawful permanent residents of the United States and permanent residents of Canada who meet certain eligibility requirements.
Chertoff said his agency's data revealed that in September 2006, 90 per cent of passengers leaving from Canadian airports had passports.
But far fewer show them at the Canada-U.S. border, relying instead on driver's licences and birth certificates. About 44 per cent of all Canadians have passports.
"Could James Bond and Q come up with a fake passport?" Chertoff asked, referring to the fictional British spy and his espionage agency's technical genius.
Of course, he replied, because "nothing is completely perfect."
Still, he said, with new technology, it is becoming increasingly difficult to create fraudulent passports.
The U.S. travel document requirements are the result of recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission, which Congress subsequently passed into law under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.
After a massive lobbying effort by the Canadian government, some U.S. politicians and business groups on both sides of the border, Congress allowed some leeway on the new security plan, until mid-2009.
Stakeholders who critics the plan said the changes couldn't be completed in time without crippling trade and causing massive tie-ups at the border.
The U.S. released plans last month for a wallet-sized identity card Americans could use to re-enter the country from Canada instead of a passport.
Canada still hasn't decided whether it will follow Washington's lead and produce a high-technology document that establishes nationality.
The two countries have been discussing which options would be acceptable for Canadians but Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day has said enhanced driver's licences are possible.
"My biggest frustration and complaint is the fact they haven't really worked with Canada on building a technology regime for the documents,'' Stewart Verdery, a former Homeland official who now works at Monument Policy Group consulting firm, told The Canadian Press.
Under a separate program, Homeland Security plans to require all travellers entering the U.S. by land or sea, including Americans, to show passports or an alternative security identification card when entering the U.S. starting as early as January 2008.
The Department of Homeland Security released the changes amid questions being raised about passport security in Canada.
The capture of an alleged Russian spy in Montreal has raised questions about how he was able to collect three successive passports using a fake birth certificate, despite the fact Canadian officials were supposed to crack down on lax passport procedures.
With files from The Associated Press
New U.S. air travel passport laws kick in Jan. 23
Passport law kicks in Jan. 23
CTV.ca News Staff
Wed. November. 22 2006 5:34 PM ET
Virtually anyone flying to the United States will need a passport as of January 23, a deadline that is a few days later than initially planned.
The security measure was supposed to go into effect in early January but U.S. officials have been slow to finalize details of the plan.
Visitors from most countries in the hemisphere are already required to show passports.
However, U.S. citizens, travellers from Canada and Bermuda, and some travellers from Mexico who have special border-crossing cards for frequent visitors were allowed to show other proofs of identification, such as drivers' licences or birth certificates.
"The ability to misuse travel documents to enter this country opens the door for a terrorist to carry out an attack," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a statement on Wednesday.
"We can not continue to allow loopholes that could facilitate access to the United States through false claims of citizenship or fake identities," he said.
Chertoff said the rules strengthen border security by designating verifiable secure documents that may be used at ports of entry.
There are more than 8,000 different state and local entities in the United States alone that issue birth certificates and driver's licenses.
Border officers face the challenge of assessing the authenticity of these documents, said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statement.
According to DHS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted more than 75,000 fraudulent documents in the fiscal year of 2005 and apprehended more than 84,000 individuals trying to cross the border with fraudulent claims of citizenship or documents.
In some cases, other documents still may be used for air entry into the U.S. by selected frequent travellers between the U.S. and Canada, members of the American military on official business and some U.S. merchant mariners.
The MMD or "z-card" is issued by the U.S. Coast Guard to U.S. merchant mariners and the NEXUS Air card is issued to citizens of Canada and the United States, lawful permanent residents of the United States and permanent residents of Canada who meet certain eligibility requirements.
Chertoff said his agency's data revealed that in September 2006, 90 per cent of passengers leaving from Canadian airports had passports.
But far fewer show them at the Canada-U.S. border, relying instead on driver's licences and birth certificates. About 44 per cent of all Canadians have passports.
"Could James Bond and Q come up with a fake passport?" Chertoff asked, referring to the fictional British spy and his espionage agency's technical genius.
Of course, he replied, because "nothing is completely perfect."
Still, he said, with new technology, it is becoming increasingly difficult to create fraudulent passports.
The U.S. travel document requirements are the result of recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission, which Congress subsequently passed into law under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.
After a massive lobbying effort by the Canadian government, some U.S. politicians and business groups on both sides of the border, Congress allowed some leeway on the new security plan, until mid-2009.
Stakeholders who critics the plan said the changes couldn't be completed in time without crippling trade and causing massive tie-ups at the border.
The U.S. released plans last month for a wallet-sized identity card Americans could use to re-enter the country from Canada instead of a passport.
Canada still hasn't decided whether it will follow Washington's lead and produce a high-technology document that establishes nationality.
The two countries have been discussing which options would be acceptable for Canadians but Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day has said enhanced driver's licences are possible.
"My biggest frustration and complaint is the fact they haven't really worked with Canada on building a technology regime for the documents,'' Stewart Verdery, a former Homeland official who now works at Monument Policy Group consulting firm, told The Canadian Press.
Under a separate program, Homeland Security plans to require all travellers entering the U.S. by land or sea, including Americans, to show passports or an alternative security identification card when entering the U.S. starting as early as January 2008.
The Department of Homeland Security released the changes amid questions being raised about passport security in Canada.
The capture of an alleged Russian spy in Montreal has raised questions about how he was able to collect three successive passports using a fake birth certificate, despite the fact Canadian officials were supposed to crack down on lax passport procedures.
With files from The Associated Press
