Updates on United States Passports
Travel Document Systems updates US citizens traveling across borders about the current changes on US passports rules. TDS adapts to these changes that have taken effect mainly after 9/11.
Online, October 7, 2010 (Newswire.com) - 30 September 2010 - Washington, D. C. - There have been a few changes with regards to rules about the United States passports, due to post-9/11 border security concerns. Travel Document Systems, Inc. discusses these changes for the traveling US citizen.
The US government started requiring US citizens returning from the Caribbean (except US territories), Bermuda, Mexico and Canada to present a valid US passport on January 23, 2007. But in accordance to the 2006 Congressional approval of a report regarding the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, Congress delayed the delayed the deadline for using a passport in Mexican and Canadian border crossings to June 1, 2009. These changes are part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative recommended by the Department of Homeland Security.
As of June 1, 2009, passports have been required for all land and sea border crossings into the US from any foreign land, including Canada and Mexico. Foreign land doesn't include the US territories of Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and North Mariana Islands.
Prior to June 1, 2009, a few things have transpired. The PASS card was an inexpensive passport substitute before passports begin to be required for US citizens crossing Mexico and Canada. High-tech driver's license which is only available to residents of certain states has been introduced for border crossing purposes.
TDS have adapted quickly to these changes to provide a complete array of expediting services for both individual and group travel, including tourist and business visas and U.S. passport processing, as well as special services involving legal and commercial documents.