Saturday, December 09, 2006

Department of Homeland Security Revises Date for Passport Use

Making yet another last-minute change to the previous regulation regarding the need for passports for international travel, the Department of Homeland Security has now set January 23rd, 2007 as the new starting date for the regulation requiring airline passengers entering the United States by air from within the western hemisphere to possess a valid passport.

The new date for the regulation, referred to as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, was the result of a delay in the rule-making process that pushed back the original January 8th start date by two weeks. However, the passport requirement does not apply to U.S. citizens visiting Puerto Rico and/or the U.S. Virgin Islands as they are U.S. territories. For cruise and land passengers, the passport requirement takes effect in June 2009, although that date could be moved up to as early as January 2008.  This means that any U.S. citizens planning to visit Bonaire, and whom must travel back to the United States by air, must have a valid U.S. passport effective for travel beginning January 23, 2007.

(Source:  Travel Weekly)