Passport Required For All Travelers!

Posted on June 22, 2006
Filed Under Travel |


If you’re a citizen of any country other than the United States, or you’re a U.S. citizen who travels internationally, you’ve no doubt already dealt with having to have a passport. However there are a substantial number of U.S. citizens, who having never had the need for one, are facing the requirement to get their passport by year end, or forget about traveling outside this country.

For those who are unaware, some of the new entry requirements implemented after 9/11 by “The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004” include the necessity of everyone, including U.S. citizens to show their passport for re-entry to the U.S. The effective date for this has been staggered depending on where one was coming from, and the mode of entry, but the present proposal is that:

So basically you’ve got until the end of 2006 to get a passport unless you cross by land from Canada or Mexico, in which case you’ve got another year to put it off.

The way folks think about this is actually quite interesting. If you talk to people who are citizens of other countries, the reaction is sort of like: “well, duh!, of course you need a passport to travel”. Because it’s the norm for them, they are usually surprised that this is even an issue.

On the other hand, many people in the U.S. are finding it somewhat inconvenient. After all, we’ve grown used to the idea we can mostly go where we want with little more than a drivers license. Not everywhere of course, but having the entire North American continent, along with the Caribbean, and a few other places as our stomping ground, sort of insulates us from reality as the rest of the world sees it.

It’s probably one more thing that contributes to an outsiders sense of our being somewhat arrogant in this country. Not all that hard to understand really – after all, we pretty much set ourselves up as the exception to the rules by which most others are governed. And even now, the changes being implemented are for our own interest.

I suppose over time, and somewhat of necessity, I’ve gotten used to the idea of a passport being the norm, and in fact use it for all travel – even inside the U.S. It’s sort of odd now to see so many people using drivers licenses to go cross border. But they’re still doing it. I can’t help but think that come late this year, we’re going to see a mad dash by all those who either didn’t get the word, or failed to prepare.

So avoid the rush – do it now – even if you don’t have a trip planned. Passports are good for 10 years, and sooner or later, you’ll likely need one. Besides, as with most other things, the cost will only go up.


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