US Passport Changes

[joe]

Thanks to a huge amount of passport applications the U.S. State Department has decided to remove some of the passport requirements instituted earlier this year. The changes will be temporary, and these new passport rules will allow U.S. travelers to, through September, fly to and from Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico without a passport. Travelers will still need to present a State Department receipt proving that they have applied for a passport and a driver's license or some other government-issued identification.

Much of the increase in passport applications is due to The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, instituted in January. It has caused a backlog that has forced applicants to wait up to 3 months to receive a passport. In some instances the traveler will miss traveling altogether. The State Department hopes to be able to catch up with the applications while these rules and restrictions are temporarily lifted and allow travelers who are currently waiting for their passport process to be completed to travel to Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.

You can review the complete details at the website for the U.S. Department of State Travel.

[d360]

We recently applied for our daughters passport and it not suppose to arrive until Novemeber so we chose the expedited passport route. Quite a bit more expensive!

[flyinghighagain]

This passport thing has become a mess!
the end.