Travelling with kids - crossing Canada US border, domestic flights and ID

[andrea4896]

Hi everyone! I have a few questions regarding travel for our upcoming trip that I am having trouble finding answers to and am hoping you folks can help.

My husband and I are going to Disney in November with our kids who will be 2 & 6 at the time. We are driving from Canada to Buffalo and then flying to Orlando from there. We all have passports that will be valid for more than 6 months after our return however my youngest got his passport photo done when he was only 3 months old. I thought I could get his picture re-done but I just checked into this and found out that they stopped doing this on June 30th. Does anyone have experience crossing the border in a situation similar to this? Am I going to run into problems because he looks different than he did in his passport photo? I can bring a copy of his birth certificate as well but don't want to bring the original if I don't need to.

I am also wondering if we are going to require any additional time at the airports due to the fact that we are Canadian. Will we have to undergo additional screenings or will it be okay since we will already be in the US? I'm not sure if it is relevant but we are flying down with JetBlue and back with SouthWest.

I'm assuming that passports will be enough ID for all of us but if I need any additional documentation for any of us please let me know. This is our first time flying within the US, our kids first time in the US and only our second time flying with kids so we aren't entirely sure what to expect so any information anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[TNS_Tinkerbell]

Hey Andrea, we are from Canada and driving to seattle to fly to orlando. Now, from my experience we only need the passport to cross the boarder, when it comes to flying we have been told by Alaska that since we will be flying domestic us to us, that we won't be using passport.

Now, as for your little guys passport, it might be wise to re do the passport, as an infant passport here in bc needed to be updated after their second birthday, due to facial changes.

Have you looked on the Canadian Border Agency website about this?

Good luck and have fun.

 

[wilkeliza]

Hi everyone! I have a few questions regarding travel for our upcoming trip that I am having trouble finding answers to and am hoping you folks can help.

My husband and I are going to Disney in November with our kids who will be 2 & 6 at the time. We are driving from Canada to Buffalo and then flying to Orlando from there. We all have passports that will be valid for more than 6 months after our return however my youngest got his passport photo done when he was only 3 months old. I thought I could get his picture re-done but I just checked into this and found out that they stopped doing this on June 30th. Does anyone have experience crossing the border in a situation similar to this? Am I going to run into problems because he looks different than he did in his passport photo? I can bring a copy of his birth certificate as well but don't want to bring the original if I don't need to.

I am also wondering if we are going to require any additional time at the airports due to the fact that we are Canadian. Will we have to undergo additional screenings or will it be okay since we will already be in the US? I'm not sure if it is relevant but we are flying down with JetBlue and back with SouthWest.

I'm assuming that passports will be enough ID for all of us but if I need any additional documentation for any of us please let me know. This is our first time flying within the US, our kids first time in the US and only our second time flying with kids so we aren't entirely sure what to expect so any information anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

I can't imagine that they would hastle you for your son's photo being from when he was a baby. I know people whose younger one's passport hasn't had to be renewed yet and so they are 4 but have baby pictures on them. I think you will be fine.

 

[Disneylover99]

As long as everyone has a valid passport you should be fine. We usually fly out of Buffalo and we've never been detained at any airport because we are Canadian. Infact, our youngest is usually asleep when we cross the border (going either way) and they have never asked us to wake her (though we are always prepared to). Our biggest stress crossing the border is trying to remember our license plate.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

You don't need any id for minors under 18 to fly in the US, so your kids will only need id for the border crossing.

Being Canadian won't have any effect on your US flight.

 

[DopeyDame]

I don't know the rules on a Canadian passport, but for US passports, a child's passport is good for 5 years, so there are tons of 4 year olds using passports with infant photos (including mine). No big deal at all.

 

[GillianP1301]

The passport for your youngest should be fine as long as it's not expired (or less than 6 months from expiry). Regardless of age, it's valid until expiry. I thought the duration until expiration was shorter than the standard 5 years on passports for kinds under 2, so I would double check and make sure that one isn't expiring on a different day/year than the rest of you. Assuming it's good to go on date, you should have no problem.

Once you do your border cross at Buffalo, you won't be producing any documentation differently than any other domestic flyer in the US. You'll have gotten your customs stuff done by car, which is a nice perk of the driving over and then flying. I've not done it myself, but know plenty who have and all say that it's a much easier/more relaxed customs experience then at the airport.

 

[andrea4896]

Thanks so much everyone for the responses. This makes me feel so much better. My sons passport will be valid for nearly a year after we return and the rest of ours will be valid for 3 years so I think we will be okay. I think I will bring the kids birth certificates as well even though I'm sure we won't need them.

Our biggest stress crossing the border is trying to remember our license plate.

Thanks for mentioning this, I'll have to make an effort to memorize my license plate before the trip. I never would have thought of this.

 

[formill]

Kids under 16 don't need a passport at all to cross at a land crossing Canada to the United States........just birth certificate.......and if they are under 19 and going across for a school or sport function they don't need one then either. Passports when just going the states only need to be valid on the date of entry. Flying from Canada to the United States you would need a passport- so we got them for all our kids young so we could be flexible where we fly from- but in the end have only flown out of Buffalo or Niagara Falls, NY. Any ID works once you are at the airport in the states but we always just use the passports there too.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/de...-required-for-canadian-citizens-/-residents-/

I think the only time you need to know your license plate number when you cross is if you buy at the duty free or your plate is blocked like ours has been when we have had bikes on the back- a picture is taken when you get close to the booth so they only ask if they can't read it in the picture. In the duty free it is always one of our kids that can remember the plate number!

 

[Disneylover99]

I think the only time you need to know your license plate number when you cross is if you buy at the duty free or your plate is blocked like ours has been when we have had bikes on the back- a picture is taken when you get close to the booth so they only ask if they can't read it in the picture. In the duty free it is always one of our kids that can remember the plate number!

It's not that you need to know your license plate, it's just that they ask you random quick questions at the border crossings which always throw us off. One of the more common questions that we've been asked is what our license plate is and it's never been obscured by bikes or anything.

My husband also frequently gets asked his country of birth. He always answers Canada (which is incorrect) because they speak so quick. Honestly, we sound like bumbling idiots crossing the border at times but they always let us through.

 

[elaine amj]

Like a PP said, kids under 16 don't need a passport to cross to the United States. Just a birth cert is good. And even adults don't need a passport to enter Canada (just to enter the US).

My DD's 1st passport was when she was a few months old. We crossed every 1-2 mmonths with that passport until it expired. No biggie.

 

[dmband]

There is a lot of general info in this thread such as only adults need a passport which isn't ness true and depends on where you live
For example in ny you can cross with an enhanced drives license which cost $30 and is good for as long as your license is

I cross everytime with my enhanced license and my kids cross with birth certificates (original, not copies)
Never had a problem, even crossed three times in one day in May

I highly recommend going to a government run website and see what it states is required before taking advice here and check out the whti rules
Here is the us one http://www.dhs.gov/crossing-us-borders
Canadian http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
Here is a chart that's easy to read too http://www.peacebridge.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=742

 

[elaine amj]

There is a lot of general info in this thread such as only adults need a passport which isn't ness true and depends on where you live
For example in ny you can cross with an enhanced drives license which cost $30 and is good for as long as your license is

I cross everytime with my enhanced license and my kids cross with birth certificates (original, not copies)
Never had a problem, even crossed three times in one day in May

I highly recommend going to a government run website and see what it states is required before taking advice here and check out the whti rules
Here is the us one http://www.dhs.gov/crossing-us-borders
Canadian http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
Here is a chart that's easy to read too http://www.peacebridge.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=742

Yes, many alternate forms of ID. Only a few states offer enhanced driver's licenses - primarily border states.

Also, if you belong to certain native american tribes (bands?), you may be able to use those ID documents instead of a passport. I think something to do with treaties? If you qualify, research this first as I last looked this up a couple of years back.

 

[bumbershoot]

There is a lot of general info in this thread such as only adults need a passport which isn't ness true and depends on where you live
For example in ny you can cross with an enhanced drives license which cost $30 and is good for as long as your license is

I think it's more that they are saying that kids only need BCs.


I would never bother to learn my license plate number just for border crossing. It's far more real for me to say "I don't know" than for me to rattle off numbers. Of course, I knew my last plate number, but apparently plates age in WA and you have to have them changed out every so often. I'd never owned a car and never had a car this long, so I had no idea!