Passport rules are flexible - for now

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Stephanie Paterik, Emily Seftel and Scott Craven

The Arizona Republic

Jan. 26, 2007 12:00 AM

The United States' new passport requirement is in full effect, but the rule has proved less cut and dried than Americans expected.

Airlines say they have turned away few passengers since Tuesday, when they had to start checking passports for all international flights including Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.

That is partly because travelers who don't have a passport are being allowed to fly anyway with proof of U.S. citizenship, namely a birth certificate and an additional layer of screening.

"We don't want to suddenly slam the door," said Brian Levin, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Tucson. "We're not going to stop a U.S. citizen from coming into their own country."

Congress mandated that everyone entering the country carry a passport, the most reliable proof of citizenship.

The law went into effect this week for air travel, and passports will be required for land and sea travel within the next couple of years.

So far, the new ruling has proved a hassle but not a complete roadblock to travel for passengers without passports.

Customs and Border Protection is pulling aside travelers without passports, making them prove citizenship and handing them passport applications. Some people may need to ask loved ones to fax a birth certificate to the airport, Levin said.

The process is certainly a time-consuming hassle, and there are no guarantees of boarding an international flight without a passport. But it means that when there is a will to travel, there often is a way.

Arizona travel agencies and passport processors report that savvy travelers are ordering expedited passports so they don't have to cancel their trips or endure extra security.

"People are confident they can get expedited passports and get them in time," said Jennifer Danvers, operations manager for Camelback Odyssey Travel in Phoenix. "No one has canceled or postponed a trip because of passports. People are catching on pretty quickly."

Another point of confusion is whether travelers need a passport to leave the country, to return or both.

Although the law bans people only from entering the United States, in reality, Americans traveling round-trip won't get off the ground without the proper documentation.

That is because airlines can be fined for carrying passengers without a passport. To avoid that penalty, they are cracking down on travelers the moment they check in, before their trip begins.

Tempe-based US Airways spokeswoman Valerie Wunder said few, if any, travelers are "having issues."

"This is a phased approach to compliance," she said.

"If you still don't have a passport, we're still letting you travel on a birth certificate. Eventually, you are going to need a passport to go as well as come back."

Customs and Border Protection is keeping track of how many people show up to the airport without a passport but said the numbers were not available Thursday.

When the numbers show that most people are complying, airlines and customs agents will be stricter, Wunder said.

The Arizona Office of Tourism said the passport requirement for air travel will not affect the state's tourism. Most Mexicans carry passports when they travel here, anyway.

Mexico tourism worries

But it is a different story in Mexico, where tourism officials predict 400,000 people will be deterred from visiting, said Carlos Flores Vizcarra, consul general of Mexico overseeing Arizona.

"Some Americans have not had a passport in 40 years. Now . . . it is indispensable," he said. "We think that is going to have an impact on Mexico tourism that is considered negative."

Inexperienced travelers are likely to be affected, said David Holladay, a tour guide from Utah on his way to Mexico. Holladay, a frequent overseas traveler, thinks the regulations will be a deterrent.

"It'll affect the casual traveler if you have to get a passport first," he said.

"A lot of people won't get it, or won't know how to get it. I've talked to a lot of people, and the official part of it seems scary."

At the airport Thursday afternoon, the scene was calm at the international departures area around US Airways and AeroMexico.

For frequent international travelers, the new passport regulations barely registered as a blip on their travel radar.

Albert Bernal of Phoenix, who was traveling to Costa Rica with his family, has held a passport for three years and said that he hadn't paid attention to the new requirements.

'World has changed'

Nancy Wolfe, chief executive officer of Sundance Travel in Phoenix, for years has urged her clients to obtain passports whether or not they planned to travel outside the United States. Many have followed her advice.

"It's a really important form of identification," Wolfe said. "Everyone we deal with is very understanding (of the new passport requirements). The world has changed since 9/11. We need to know who is coming and going in this country."

Even those who plan on driving across the border or taking a cruise, for which passports are not yet required, should have such identification, said Lilian Wiedmaier, a travel agent for A World of Travel in Phoenix.

"If something happens or you get sick or injured and you need to fly back to the U.S., you're going to need a passport even if you drove across the border," Wiedmaier said.

"Everyone is going to need a passport sooner or later. People need to be prepared for anything."

Getting over the border

Worried about the new passport law? Here is what has been happening this week when Americans embark on a round-trip international flight from the United States, including to Canada and Mexico.

Step 1: When travelers book their flights, most airlines remind them to bring a passport.

Step 2: Upon check-in, the airline will ask to see a passport for all travelers, including children.

Step 3: Those with a passport may be asked to show it again at the security checkpoint and the departure gate.

Step 4: Those without a passport will be asked to prove their U.S. citizenship with a certified copy of their birth certificate. They will be detained unless they can produce it.

Step 5: When returning to the United States, travelers without a passport will be pulled aside by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Officers will ask those travelers for documents that prove citizenship, subject them to an extra layer of screening and hand them a passport application so the next trip is smoother.

[Marilyn. 340]

thats good to know...

but I am still glad I decided to take the safe route for our next trip to Canada.... since hubby doesn't have a passport yet...

we are going to fly from LA, California to Bellingham, Washington and have someone drive across the border to pick us up.... my family doesn't live that far from the border.....

in actuality the flight proved to be cheaper anyways then if we had wanted to fly into Vancouver....

Edited January 26, 2007 by MarilynP

[one...two...tree 2,762]

thats good to know...

but I am still glad I decided to take the safe route for our next trip to Canada.... since hubby doesn't have a passport yet...

we are going to fly from LA, California to Bellingham, Washington and have someone drive across the border to pick us up.... my family doesn't live that far from the border.....

in actuality the flight proved to be cheaper anyways then if we had wanted to fly into Vancouver....

Has he ever travelled to Mexico and if so, did they ever give him a hard time upon his return?

[Marilyn. 340]

thats good to know...

but I am still glad I decided to take the safe route for our next trip to Canada.... since hubby doesn't have a passport yet...

we are going to fly from LA, California to Bellingham, Washington and have someone drive across the border to pick us up.... my family doesn't live that far from the border.....

in actuality the flight proved to be cheaper anyways then if we had wanted to fly into Vancouver....

Has he ever travelled to Mexico and if so, did they ever give him a hard time upon his return?

he has traveled to Mexico a lot but not for a few years now... I don't think he has ever flown to Mexico though, he has always driven across... I think I remember him saying that he has given a hard time entering and leaving.... but not every time he crossed..

We drove up to Canada last year and we had no problems crossing the border, he just showed him his DL and Birth certificate... and same thing when we re-entered.....

and when I was still living in Canada, and he would fly up to visit me, he just showed his DL and birth certificate... He sometimes was given a hard time and on occasion was detained for an hour or so while they questioned him over and over.... one time Customs even sent him over to Immigration and the lady there just looked at his birth certificate or something and said that she had no idea why they sent him over and let him go on his way.... I guess he has a guilty looking face or something ... Hubby said that all the times crossing the border into Mexico had trained him on how to act at the border....

[one...two...tree 2,762]

thats good to know...

but I am still glad I decided to take the safe route for our next trip to Canada.... since hubby doesn't have a passport yet...

we are going to fly from LA, California to Bellingham, Washington and have someone drive across the border to pick us up.... my family doesn't live that far from the border.....

in actuality the flight proved to be cheaper anyways then if we had wanted to fly into Vancouver....

Has he ever travelled to Mexico and if so, did they ever give him a hard time upon his return?

he has traveled to Mexico a lot but not for a few years now... I don't think he has ever flown to Mexico though, he has always driven across... I think I remember him saying that he has given a hard time entering and leaving.... but not every time he crossed..

We drove up to Canada last year and we had no problems crossing the border, he just showed him his DL and Birth certificate... and same thing when we re-entered.....

and when I was still living in Canada, and he would fly up to visit me, he just showed his DL and birth certificate... He sometimes was given a hard time and on occasion was detained for an hour or so while they questioned him over and over.... one time Customs even sent him over to Immigration and the lady there just looked at his birth certificate or something and said that she had no idea why they sent him over and let him go on his way.... I guess he has a guilty looking face or something ... Hubby said that all the times crossing the border into Mexico had trained him on how to act at the border....

...he now uses a skin bleaching agent?

[Marilyn. 340]

thats good to know...

but I am still glad I decided to take the safe route for our next trip to Canada.... since hubby doesn't have a passport yet...

we are going to fly from LA, California to Bellingham, Washington and have someone drive across the border to pick us up.... my family doesn't live that far from the border.....

in actuality the flight proved to be cheaper anyways then if we had wanted to fly into Vancouver....

Has he ever travelled to Mexico and if so, did they ever give him a hard time upon his return?

he has traveled to Mexico a lot but not for a few years now... I don't think he has ever flown to Mexico though, he has always driven across... I think I remember him saying that he has given a hard time entering and leaving.... but not every time he crossed..

We drove up to Canada last year and we had no problems crossing the border, he just showed him his DL and Birth certificate... and same thing when we re-entered.....

and when I was still living in Canada, and he would fly up to visit me, he just showed his DL and birth certificate... He sometimes was given a hard time and on occasion was detained for an hour or so while they questioned him over and over.... one time Customs even sent him over to Immigration and the lady there just looked at his birth certificate or something and said that she had no idea why they sent him over and let him go on his way.... I guess he has a guilty looking face or something ... Hubby said that all the times crossing the border into Mexico had trained him on how to act at the border....

...he now uses a skin bleaching agent?

Ha Ha... actually my hubby is fairly "white" for being a Mexican American... and some people say because of his eye shape he looks kind of Asian or something... I think that is why he gets hassled sometimes at the border, they aren't really sure what he is