Passport Update! Sept 30/06

[mbb]

Flying/Cruising to/through USA:
Still January 2007, passports *required* (this isn't new, but figures it bears repeating )

Driving, Ferry to USA:
Non-passport travel ***extended*** to June 2008.

So if you're flying or planning a cruise - anywhere that stops in US territory - get your passports...

If you're driving, you've got some more time, ie, 6 more months than previously. New extension was approved yesterday/early today.

HTH!

 

[maddiel]

I think it's even better news than that:

But negotiators from the House of Representatives and Senate have agreed to push back the date to June 1, 2009.

Canadians entering the U.S. by air or sea will still require passports starting Jan. 8, 2007.

(from CTV.ca)

M.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

Despite this dithering by the US Congress, remember that the individual Customs guard or INS guard is the one who makes the final decision if you get in to the US. If they tell you that a birth certificate and driver's licence aren't sufficient, then they are right.

Let's face it -- birth certificates are easily forged, altered and driver's licences (especially Ontario drivers licences) are also easily forged and altered. Neither is really proof of citizenship. I could have been born in Canada and have a birth certificate from a Canadian province or territory, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm a Canadian citizen. Neither does a drivers licence indicate citizenship -- it only indicates residency at the time of issue.

The passport is the travel document of choice. The electronic coding, anti-counterfeiting measures and other security features mean there is little question as to one's citizenship, place of birth or residency when it is provided at the border.

There really are no good reasons to not have a passport and tonnes of great reasons to have a passport.

 

[willise]

Actually, I disagree that the Customs officers can deny you entry to the US because you use a birth certificate and drivers license as ID.

There is nothing on any INS website that mandates Canadians must produce a passport, yet. Sure it is the preferred method of identification, but not a necessity until 2007 at the earliest.

Having said that, I always drive to the US to catch flights. SO much easier at Customs and so much cheaper. Canadian airlines (ACA and WJ) charge double what the American carriers do.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

Actually, I disagree that the Customs officers can deny you entry to the US because you use a birth certificate and drivers license as ID.

You can disagree all you want, but the customs officer or the INS officer sitting in that booth at the border can deny anyone entry to the United States if they feel that the identification is not adequate.

As I mentioned before, both birth certificates and drivers licenses are easily counterfeited and this is well known by the media, politicians, counterfeiters and those who work at the borders. The Ontario premier was laughed at with great gusto by the assembled media when he suggested that an Ontario drivers license was a secure form of identification.

 

[willise]

the customs officer or the INS officer sitting in that booth at the border can deny anyone entry to the United States if they feel that the identification is not adequate./QUOTE]

So you are saying that A Canadian citizen who pulls up to the border, with documentation that is approved by the INS, will be arbitrarely denied entry to the US?

I realize that the INS do have discretion when admitting people, but they cannot just deny you entry for the color of your eyes. People have been crossing the border for many many years with nothing more than a birth certificate and government issued picture ID. If you read the INS web page, it says the same thing. Read it here if you want:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1260.html#canada

Are you more likely to have possible delays crossing the border with a DL and BC - maybe. But do you need a passport - absolutely not.

A passport is definitely the best ID you can have, but not currently required for travel to the US.

 

[satman1962]

The point is that US customs can deny you entry for any reason they see fit, be it questionable ID, eye color, or just because. Gaining entry to the US or any country for that matter is a privilage not a right. It doesn't matter for how long anyone has been crossing the border, it only matters when you're crossing.

 

[madonna31]

The point is that US customs can deny you entry for any reason they see fit, be it questionable ID, eye color, or just because. Gaining entry to the US or any country for that matter is a privilage not a right. It doesn't matter for how long anyone has been crossing the border, it only matters when you're crossing.

Very well said!

I spoke to an INS officer about this very thing back in April. He said that one of the biggest problems occur if your picture in your license doesn't look like you. For example you lost/gained weight, changed your hair colour etc. since the picture was taken. Then, they have reason to deny you entry.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

the customs officer or the INS officer sitting in that booth at the border can deny anyone entry to the United States if they feel that the identification is not adequate./QUOTE]

So you are saying that A Canadian citizen who pulls up to the border, with documentation that is approved by the INS, will be arbitrarely denied entry to the US?

Fortunately you quoted me exactly, and my exact words can be seen above your own. I did not say that Customs or INS will deny entry to a Canadian with a BC and DL -- they can, for the exact reasons I suggested (i.e. probability of forgery) or for the reasons you have suggested yourself. It doesn't matter how long Canadians have been crossing the border. We have no right to enter the United States. It is a privilege and the Customs or INS guard has been entrusted with the responsibility of vetting all who wish to enter. Anyone traveling with a BC and DL can be denied entry. Anyone traveling without any ID can be denied entry. Anyone traveling with a passport can be denied entry.

In the end the passport, by your own admission, is the preferred document of international travel. A drivers license and birth certificate are not. If one wishes to travel to another country then it is to be expected that one should get a passport. There is no good reason for those traveling to the United States to not have a valid passport.