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Passport Regulations
Aaron Dalton January 24, 2007
Article Controls
Planning a short hop to Tijuana or Toronto? Be sure to add a passport to your packing list.
As of Tuesday, January 23rd, the U.S. government is mandating that all air travelers -- "U.S. citizens and foreign nationals alike -- " show a passport when entering the country. The new regulations are part of the government's ongoing attempts to toughen up border security as recommended by the 9/11 Commission.
Slideshow: 10 Things You Need To Know About Passports Today
The new rules on passports apply to countries where Americans have long been able to travel with only a driver's license or birth certificate like Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean.
Though the new regulations only apply to air travelers for now, they will likely be extended to cover travelers making land or ferry crossings starting as soon as January 2008. If you're one of the estimated 70 million Americans who already owns a valid passport, all you have to do is remember to take it with you on every flight abroad.
On the other hand, if you've never bothered to get a passport before or have let your current one expire (most are good for 10 years; juvenile passports for 5 years), hurry up and apply or renew before the passport offices get overloaded. Papers are already reporting a major spike in the number of passport applications.
With passport in hand, you can zip up and catch the Winter Carnaval in Quebec City, January 26 to February 11 (www.carnaval.qc.ca/en), or escape the cold at the mid-February Carnaval in Mazatlán (www.carnavalmazatlan.net/index_en.php).
And if you're seriously passport (or airplane) averse, you can always take a road trip. The new passport regulations don't apply to drivers between Mexico, Canada and the U.S. until next year at the earliest.
Read on to learn 10 things you need to learn about the new passport regulations. While most are fairly straightforward (don't forget your toddler), others may surprise you (smiling for passport photos is frowned upon).
Slideshow: 10 Things You Need To Know About Passports Today
