Have a Passport? If Not, You Will Soon
If you are heading to the TPI conference in Australia in February, you need to have a passport. If you aren’t going, you still probably need one. Homeland Security is tightening the borders and soon it will be necessary to have a passport to cross the Mexican and Canadian borders or take a cruise to the Caribbean.
By December 31 of this year, you will need a passport for air and sea travel to and from Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda. By December 31 of 2007 you will need a passport for all land border crossings to those places.
If you don’t have a passport but want to get one, go to www.travel.state.gov and click on “Passports.” Or you can call the U.S. National Passport Information Center at 877-487-2778.
You will need an Application Form DS-11 available on the website or at one of the passport acceptance facilities such as your county clerk’s office or some post offices. You will also need proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a certified copy of your birth certificate. Proof of identity, such as your driver’s license is also required.
Two passport photos, two-by-two are needed. The application fee is $97. Children need passports too, if they will be crossing the borders. Children under 14 must appear with both parents, who must show proof of their relationship to the child.
Once the paperwork is done, it takes approximately six weeks before you will receive the passports. They are good for ten years. It is suggested that you begin renewing your passport about nine months before they expire. Some countries require that passports be valid for at least six months.