The summer vacation season is here, and it seems that many people are ready to get away for a while. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, Americans will take nearly 328 million trips between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Of those, 16 percent of people say they will travel outside the United States. When most people think of international travel, visions of London, Paris or some other faraway destination come to mind. But did you know that the vast majority of U.S. international travel, nearly 86 percent, is just across our borders with Canada and Mexico? Today, travel across the borders to our neighboring countries is fairly simple. Although passports have long been required for travelers entering the United States from overseas, you could travel to and from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean with just a driver's license, birth certificate or other proof of residency. However, that policy is changing. Since September 11, 2001, security at U.S. borders has been heightened, focusing on threat deterrence and preventing would-be terrorists from gaining entry into the United States. Last year, Congress passed an intelligence reform bill that will change the requirements for travelers entering the United States from any foreign country. Under the changes, by the end of this year, travelers entering the United States from the Caribbean, Bermuda and Central and South America will need a passport. By December 31, 2006, a passport will be required for all air and sea travel to and from Mexico and Canada. And by December 31, 2007, a passport will be needed for land border crossings as well. For most travelers from other countries, carrying a passport is just part of taking a trip. But for Americans, unless you ve been overseas, there s never been the need for a passport. In fact, only 15 percent of Americans have a valid passport. Therefore, these potential travel requirements will have a significant effect on the travel plans of many people. Fortunately, obtaining a passport is not difficult, although you need to plan in advance and be prepared to pay up to $100. For more information about obtaining a passport, visit my Web site at www.house.gov/pryce/passport.htm or contact my Columbus office at 614-469-5614. The United States is the most open nation in the world. Our borders are the gateway for trillions of dollars in commercial trade, as well as for millions of visitors coming to see this great land each year. However, these same borders are potential entrance points for criminals and those who wish to do us harm. Just this past week, a man who allegedly committed a murder in Canada crossed the border into the United States. Border agents allowed him entry because he is a naturalized citizen. This event once again highlighted the concern that many Americans have about the security of our borders. While there are some who oppose the thought of requiring all Americans to obtain a passport, increasing the use of passports by our citizens benefits our national security and promises less hassle for travelers. Many people complained about the long security lines and added checkpoints at airports over the past couple of years, but no one can say today
that the minor inconvenience is not worth ensuring the safety of our airlines. In the end, the security of our country and the safety of its citizens are of the utmost importance. The vast majority of North American same-day travelers cross the border in personal vehicles. Border-entry data show that 344 million land passenger crossings were made 9 into the United States from Mexico and Canada in 2001-approximately 944,000 a day1t P P1T.). On the U.S.-Mexican border, about 20 percent of those entering the United States from Mexico were on foot, while most of the rest crossed in personal vehicles. In 2001, approximately 245,000 personal vehicles crossed into the United States everyday from Mexico, with El Paso, Texas, and San Ysidro, California, each handling a large share, over 40,000 incoming personal vehicles a day (1TUtable 8U1T). In more passport news, The State Department recently announced the North American Travel Initiative, which requires all U.S. citizens, Canadians, citizens of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and citizens of Mexico to have a passport or other accepted secure document to enter or re-enter the United States by January 1, 2008. This initiative comes out of the 9/11 Intelligence Bill that was signed into law in December. The law's first phase will go into effect December 31, requiring all U.S. citizens traveling by air or sea to or from the Caribbean, as well as Central and South America, to have passports. The next phase, which will apply these rules to air and sea travel to or from Mexico and Canada, will begin a year later. Webster foresees a potential negative effect on U.S.-bound Canadian travel, partly because only 40 percent of Canadians have passports. Webster also points out that since most Americans do not have passports, the initiative could have an effect on Americans looking to travel on cruise lines active in the Caribbean. North American Overnight Travel Over half (53 percent) of international overnight travel involving the United States is to and from Canada and Mexico Border Issues
As you make your travel plans, As part of the The Caribbean, the most tourism-intensive region in the world, stands to lose as much as Dollars 2.6bn in holiday spending because of a new rule requiring US citizens to carry passports when travelling there. The requirement is part of more stringent US border control and security policies. Tourism accounts for 14.8 per cent of the Caribbean's total gross domestic product and generates 15.5 per cent of total jobs, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. The rule, which is proposed to go into effect from January 1 next year, requires US citizens to have a passport to re-enter the US from the non-us territories of the Caribbean. Only 15 per cent of Americans currently hold passports. Spending on Caribbean goods and services by US visitors reached Dollars 2.6bn (Euros 2.1bn, Pounds 1.4bn) out of total visitor spending of Dollars 20.7bn last year, according to a study by the WTTC on behalf of the Caribbean Hotel Association. The findings, released during a summit of Caribbean tourism officials in New York, also concluded that the new passport rule and potential decrease in visitors could cost the region more than 188,000 tourism jobs. The new passport restrictions will "cause significant hardship for several destinations" said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president of the WTTC. Currently, US citizens need only show proof of citizenship, such as an expired passport or driver's licence, to travel to most Caribbean destinations. Regional tourism officials are vigorously lobbying the US to grant the same January 1 2008 deadline that visitors to Canada and Mexico face, in order to allow more time to prepare travellers for the new rule. The cruise industry, which also stands to take a big hit from the passport requirement, has also been vocal about extending the deadline. More than 3,578 cruise ships visited the Caribbean last year with a total passenger potential of 6.3m visitors, according to the International Council of Cruise Lines. Of 10m total cruise passengers last year, 8m were North Americans. The Caribbean is the most heavily visited cruise destination, accounting for about 45 per cent of cruise itineraries.
The US Department of Homeland Security emphasised that the 2008 deadline was a proposal and subject to change following public comment. "Our goal is to make travel safer and secure, but also to facilitate legitimate travel through the western hemisphere. We don't want to negatively impact the tourism community," it said. The passport requirement will put an end to spontaneous jaunts to the Caribbean for many Americans who don't hold passports, and ruin the vacations of others unaware of the new rule, according to the Caribbean Hotel Association. The group's study claims the region will lose about 190,000 jobs from the new passport rules, as well as the $ 2.6 billion in tourist dollars. Both organizations urged the U.S. to delay the Caribbean rule change until 2008 to give travelers more time to hear about the restrictions and get passports. Administration officials say they are trying to be as accommodating as possible while still shoring up homeland security. "We're trying to strike a balance," said State Department spokesman Steve Pike. Forcing Americans to bring a passport to the Caribbean could have an opposite effect: The CHA study warns many would-be Caribbean travelers will opt for tropical places under U.S. jurisdiction, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Florida. According to the Caribbean study, about half of all Americans visiting the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic and other smaller Caribbean favorites don't bring their passports. The Bahamas fares better, with only 25 percent of Americans traveling without a passport. But in Jamaica, 80 percent arrive without their passports, the study said. Passports can be obtained fairly quickly -- the U.S. government will rush one out in two weeks for a $ 60 fee, and Internet companies promise them even quicker than that. The Department of Homeland Security today announced that as of June 26, 2005, all persons traveling under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program
(VWP) must present a machine-readable passport (MRP) to travel to the United States without a visa. The Immigration and Nationality Act originally set October 1, 2003 as the date by which Visa Waiver Program travelers were required to present a machinereadable passport for visa-free travel to the United States. Twenty-three of the 27 Visa Waiver Program countries requested and were granted a postponement to October 26, 2004 of this requirement. The countries not requesting this postponement were Andorra, Brunei, Liechtenstein, and Slovenia. Nationals of those four countries have been required to present a machine-readable passport for visa-free travel since October 1, 2003. Belgian nationals traveling under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program have been required to present a machinereadable passport since May 15, 2003. For a limited period that started on October 26, 2004, the Department of Homeland Security has provided immigration inspectors at U.S. borders and ports of entry the authority to grant a one-time entry at no charge for Visa Waiver travelers arriving without a machine-readable passport. This limited period will end on June 26, 2005. Starting on that date, transportation carriers will be fined $3,300 per violation for transporting any Visa Waiver traveler to the U.S. without a machine-readable passport. The Department of State has been working closely with Visa Waiver Program countries to communicate information about the machine-readable passport requirement to their citizens. Since October 26, 2004, Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection officers have been notifying Visa Waiver travelers entering the United States with a letter explaining the machine-readable passport requirements. Machine-readable passports include two optical-character, typeface lines at the bottom of the biographic page of the passport that, when read, deters fraud and helps confirm the passport holders identity quickly. A sample image of a machine-readable passport may be found at http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.htm l#4. Visa Waiver travelers who are not in possession of machine-readable passport may also apply for a nonimmigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad if seeking entry for business or tourist visits to the United States. Information on the Visa Waiver Program and how to apply for a U.S. visa is available at www.travel.state.gov and www.unitedstatesvisas.gov. The machine-readable passport requirements do not affect the separate deadline requiring Visa Waiver Program country passports issued on or after October 26, 2005, to contain biometrics in order to be used for visa-free travel to the United States.
For a family of four, passports would cost almost $300 and require months to obtain. Since at least the 1920s, all that has been needed to cross the border was a driver's license or a declaration of citizenship or residence. Great Lakes bridge and tunnel operators said the passport mandate would virtually end spur-of-the-moment business and recreational trips between the United States and Canada. Spokesmen for Homeland Security on Monday confirmed they are "seeking alternatives" to passports but said that was their plan all along. Christiana Halsey, spokeswoman for Customs and Border Protection, said passports "are always the preferred document," no matter how the review turns out. The era of terrorism begun by the attack on the World Trade Center requires stronger means of identification than a driver's license, she said.