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Passport Deadline Nears, Few Americans Prepared

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 25, 2006

Passport Rules • Passport Snarl Finally Ends • Furious Travelers Blame Feds For Passport Mess • Passport Frenzy Forces Further Rule Change • Passport Problems Likely to Worsen by 2008 • Congress Fights Homeland Security Over Passport Snafu • New Passport Rules Temporarily Suspended • Homeland Security Eases Passport Rules for Kids • Passport Frenzy Creates Long Waits • Passport Rules Shift Spring Break Geography • January 23 is D Day for Passports • Passport Deadline Nears, Few Americans Prepared • Passport Problems Loom as Top Travel Pitfall • Passports Required for U.S. Entry by 2008 --- • More Travel News ...

Fewer than two months remain before arriving international passengers at U.S. airports will be required to show passports as the only acceptable proof of citizenship.

The rule applies to American citizens too, even though only about one in four has a valid passport.

With the holiday shopping season, winter weather, and the $97 fee standing in the way, the betting line on people meeting the deadline is not favorable. Making matters more difficult is that the usual six-week waiting period will coincide with the holiday-card crush for those who prefer to acquire passports by mail.

Even arrivals from Canada, Bermuda, and Mexico will be subject to the new regulations.

According to Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff, strengthening the rules reduces the chances of a terrorist entering the country.

"We're always better off when we build higher levels of security," he said. "The ability to misuse travel documents to enter this country opens the door for a terrorist.

"None of these steps is foolproof and none of them is perfect. But each of them raises the bar to an attack."

Chertoff said more than 8,000 different state and local agencies issue birth certificates and driver's licenses -- the forms of personal ID most prevalent in travel today. Deciphering each one, and determining which ones could be fraudulent, has placed an enormous burden on customs, immigration, and border officials, he said.

Land and sea arrivals will be covered by a separate program, Chertoff noted. Starting in January 2008, they will also have to show passports or proposed alternative security identity cards.

The new passport rules will not apply to Americans returning from Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, or other territories. But the North American Travel Journalists Association, whose members fly often, recommends that passengers carry them anyway to avoid potential airport problems.

Several members of Congress have long urged tougher implementation of rules regarding security documents -- a recommendation of the Sept. 11 Commission created in the wake of terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

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