Passports to enter USA

[sammi]

Stuart your "tone" suggests that you're having a bad day?

 

[StuartMI]

Stuart if you think that making Canadians get passports is a great idea, fine. I don't and your supercilious, self serving attitude towards your former homeland wears thin at times.

The way I look at it is that it is a universal travel document. If you want to travel, get a passport. I realize that it is considered, by some, an unfounded expense and for those that feel they should be able to piece together several documents to serve the same purpose as a passport, I'm sorry to hear that you are being forced into this measure. When I was living in Canada I had a passport at 18 before my parents even had one because I recognized the value of it. As for my "self serving attitude", I don't really care that it wears thin on you. I would like to have you know I still do and likely always will consider Canada my true home; There are some things that I miss terribly living here however there are also things that really irk me about Canadian attitudes when it comes to US policies. It bothered me when I lived there, and still does to this day. A great many Canadians (not pointing fingers at anyone on here) have a sort-of "I am Canadian and therefore we should have special breaks when it comes to all things American" attitude which I believe is misplaced.

My point was and is that if the U.S. government thinks that having all Canadians get passports will quell the influx of terrorists into the U.S. they are deluding themselves.

Perhaps, but I'm regarding it more of a "tightening the rope" measure rather than an attack on Canadians as a whole. As I've said over and over, a passport is a travel document - If you are going to travel, you should have one and that's it. It certainly won't do any harm.

 

[Amberle3]

My point was and is that if the U.S. government thinks that having all Canadians get passports will quell the influx of terrorists into the U.S. they are deluding themselves.

Assuming for a moment that this is the same program that they were putting into place with a start date of January 1, 2008... then it's not just the Canadians that will require a passport to get into the US. If this is the same program then the Americans will also require a passport to get back into the country if they travel outside the country for any reason.

If they don't have a passport they can use the US government issued travel security document, which requires an extensive background and security check. I'm sure they'll be paying for those too.

If they don't have either of those then - in theory anyway - they're not getting back into the country.

Now what makes me wonder is why they would change the timeframe for this program for the Canadians, and not the Americans. Could it be that (gasp) the media is mistaken and didn't note the correct year? Because if this is the same program and the whole schedule has been moved up, then you'd be hearing something about it over on the cruise boards. Once this program goes into effect then anyone getting on a ship sailing from a US port will need a passport to get back into the US. So far not a peep on the cruise boards, except for the 2008 timeframe.

 

[Taryn]

Hi,

Just an FYI...

So far even the wires are only stating that "a TV station" (CTV) is reporting that Candians may need a passport as of Dec 31st. No other news source has verified this information.

Thanks!

Taryn

 

[PrincessasMommy]

Do the kids need one too?

I believe so. We are travelling to WDW at the end of the month and Europe later in the year and was told we HAD to have them, even for my 8 month old! The cost wasn't too bad, the hardest part was getting my littlest (6 months at the time) and my 2 year old to sit still, face forward and not smile for the photo - it took us 1 hour to get their photos right! The photographer was not to happy with us!

BTW, for the little ones, the expiration time is 3 years!

 

[maryliz]

BTW, for the little ones, the expiration time is 3 years!

This applies to children under the age of 3 ... and I think it only costs about $20 or so to get these passports. For ages 3 to 16, the cost is $35, and they are good for 5 years. I guess the gov't recognizes that children change a LOT in looks from birth to age 3 I cannot imagine your pain of getting those pics done. It was hard enough for us, and our kids were 4 & 7 at the time.

I can see needing them for outside of North America for kids, but I would be surprised if the same requirement will come into effect for kids travelling to the US. I could certainly be wrong, but it would still surprise me.

MaryLiz

 

[Scratch42]

If you don't want a hassle.............

Get a passport! It's a small cost considering if something awful was to happen, you would have proof positive of who you are!

I've always travelled with a passport and even when I travelled to Boston and my girlfriend did not have proper ID, even after I told her what she needed, they allowed her entry into the US due to this fact.

Plus, if the borders were to be closed, Canadians cannot be allowed entry into Canada as long as they have proof that they are Citizens'! The only way to prove this is by having a Passport!

Small price to pay for piece of mind!

Scratch

 

[tmli]

Amberle3 said "Assuming for a moment that this is the same program that they were putting into place with a start date of January 1, 2008... then it's not just the Canadians that will require a passport to get into the US. If this is the same program then the Americans will also require a passport to get back into the country if they travel outside the country for any reason."

I would think it is the same program. I am wondering if they will implement it in stages with this being the first stage and the final stage being there own citizens.

The wording on the news is "CTV has learnedd that as of Dec.31 of this year Canadians will require a passport to enter the US, Washington will be making an announcement later today"

I would have to guess they have a somewhat reliable source before they would say this. I don't want to debate the merits of the press, I know mistakes happen. I am just saying they must have gotten the info from someone.

 

[Scratch42]

Amberle3 said "Assuming for a moment that this is the same program that they were putting into place with a start date of January 1, 2008... then it's not just the Canadians that will require a passport to get into the US. If this is the same program then the Americans will also require a passport to get back into the country if they travel outside the country for any reason."

I would think it is the same program. I am wondering if they will implement it in stages with this being the first stage and the final stage being there own citizens.

The wording on the news is "CTV has learnedd that as of Dec.31 of this year Canadians will require a passport to enter the US, Washington will be making an announcement later today"

I would have to guess they have a somewhat reliable source before they would say this. I don't want to debate the merits of the press, I know mistakes happen. I am just saying they must have gotten the info from someone.

If this is correct, I hope the government is prepared to deal with numbers that will be applying for passports!



Scratch

 

[Scratch42]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002231386_webpassports05.html

Look What I just saw over at the Cruise Boards!

Scratch

 

[maryliz]

If this is correct, I hope the government is prepared to deal with numbers that will be applying for passports!

Or at least do a better job than their provincial counterparts do with Birth Certificates.


MaryLiz

 

[tmli]

Well it sounds like what I just said. I am so smart !!!

 

[Amberle3]

Okay, so the Seattle Times and CNN are both reporting January 1, 2008 as the date.

CTV news is saying "by the end of 2006".

Somehow I think I'm going to trust the multiple US sources that are saying 2008 rather than CTV which apparently couldn't get the year right last night either.

ETA: I still recommend getting passports sooner rather than later. The wait times may be bad now - and they'll probably be bad for the next few weeks while those who panic get theirs now - but the times will definitely be bad toward the end of 2007.

 

[tmli]

Actually I believe the Seattle Times is saying phased in by 2008, starting with Caribbean, Mexico and Canada. So I am still not 100% convinced that we will not need passports on Jan.01/2006.

"The new rules, to be phased in by Jan. 1, 2008, were called for in intelligence legislation approved last year by Congress. "

"The new system will deal first with the Caribbean, then Mexico and Canada. It will start at airports and subsequently spread to land crossings, said an official speaking on condition of anonymity."

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Proposed Timeline for Implementation for Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Requirements

The travel initiative requirements will be rolled out in phases, providing as much advance notice as possible to the affected public to enable them to meet the terms of the new guidelines. The proposed implementation timeline is as follows:

December 31, 2005 – Passport or other accepted document required for all travel (air/sea) to or from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Central and South America.
December 31, 2006 – Passport or other accepted document required for all air and sea travel to or from Mexico and Canada.
December 31, 2007 – Passport or other accepted document required for all air, sea and land border crossings.

THIS IS DIRECTLY FROM http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2224.html

always get the info directly from the horse's mouth.

 

[langin]

So do you think I should bother with myself and DH and 3 DS driving down this August! Some people say it's not a big expense but for us it would cost around $300.00. The way the gas keeps going up I will need all the money I can get my hands on for gas alone!!!!!

 

[PrincessTrisha]

You won't need them until December 2006 so I don't think you need them this time especially if they would put a financial strain on your family.

 

[lilsonicfan]

As I said at the very beginning of this post - it would be insane to try to implement this within a year. Looks like I'm right, too. 2008 does look like the date.

But, we could all just consider waiting for an official announcement!

 

[JohnMcLane]

The distinction between 2006 and 2008 refers to Candian citizenship versus US citizenship. US citizens won't need to use a passport (birth certificate will still be OK) to reenter the US until 2008, Canadians will need to start using a passport in 2006.

 

[CharlesTD]

We were also told this yesterday at the passport office while we were getting them sent off. Glad we did it now rather than wait.