New Rules Affecting Travel Outside U.S.

As of January 23, 2007, everybody, including U.S. citizens, traveling by air into the U.S. will be required to present a valid passport or other accepted travel document. This applies to passengers traveling by air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda; children and infants are included.

This travel initiative, known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative or WHTI, will ultimately affect all United States citizens entering or re-entering the United States by air, sea and land. It will also affect certain foreign nationals who currently are not required to present a passport to travel to the United States by air or sea. This includes most Canadian citizens and citizens of Bermuda and Mexico.

The new requirement comes from the Departments of State and Homeland Security, as directed by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. That act requires them to put into place a plan that requires all travelers to present documentation that shows identity and citizenship when entering the United States.

To download the publications released by the Department of Homeland Security click here.