U.S. to Require Passports for Nearly All
Pastor Dale Morgan
U.S. to Require Passports for Nearly All*
Tuesday November 21, 2006 10:46 PM
By BEVERLEY LUMPKIN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Nearly all air travelers entering the U.S. will be
required to show passports beginning Jan. 23, including returning
Americans and people from Canada and other nations in the Western
Hemisphere.
The date was disclosed Tuesday by Homeland Security Secretary Michael
Chertoff in an interview with The Associated Press. The Department of
Homeland Security plans to announce the change on Wednesday.
Until now, the department had not set a specific date for instituting
the passport requirement for air travelers, though the start had been
expected to be around the beginning of the year. Setting the date on
Jan. 23 pushes the start past the holiday season.
The requirement marks a change for Americans, Canadians, Bermudans and
some Mexicans.
Currently, U.S. citizens returning from other countries in the
hemisphere are not required to present passports but must show other
proof of citizenship such as driver's licenses or birth certificates.
Visitors from most countries in the hemisphere are required to show
passports. However, people from Canada, Bermuda - and those from Mexico
who enter the U.S. frequently and have special border-crossing cards -
have been allowed to use other forms of identification, including
driver's licenses.