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House of Representatives
State of Tennessee
Contact:
Kara Watkins (615) 741-1975
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dear Friends:
I thought the following would be useful information.
NEW TRAVEL LAWS BEGAN
JANUARY 23, 2007
The proposed implementation timeline has two phases:
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As of January 23, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens,
traveling by air between the United States and Canada,
Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and
Bermuda will be required to present a valid passport,
Air NEXUS card or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner
Document or an Alien Registration Card, Form 1-551, if
applicable,
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As early as January 1, 2008, ALL persons, including U.S.
citizens, traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico,
Central and South American, the Caribbean and Bermuda by
land or sea (including ferries), may be required to
present a valid passport or other documents as
determined by the Department of Homeland Security.
While recent legislative changes permit a later
deadline, the Departments of State and Homeland Security
are working to meet all requirements as soon as
possible. Ample advance notice will be provided to
enable the public to obtain passports or passport cards
for land/sea entries.
The passport requirement does NOT apply to U.S. citizens
traveling to or returning directly from a U.S. territory. U.S.
citizens returning directly from a U.S. territory are not
considered to have left the United States and do not need to
present a passport. U.S. territories include the following:
Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa,
Swains Island and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands.
Travel Documents for U.S. Citizens Under WHTI
Under the proposed implementation plan, the following documents
will be acceptable to
fulfill document requirements:
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U.S. Passport: U.S. citizens may present a valid
U.S. passport when traveling via air between the
United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South
America, the Caribbean and Bermuda and may also use
a U.S. passport when traveling via sea and land
borders (including ferry crossings).
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The Passport Card (also referred to as the PASS
Card): This limited-use passport in card format is
currently under development and will be available
for use for travel only via land or sea (including
ferries) between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the
Caribbean and Bermuda. Similar in size to a credit
card, it will fit easily into a wallet.
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DOS and DHS also anticipate that the following
documents will continue to be acceptable for their
current travel uses under WHTI: SENTRI, NEXUS, FAST
and the U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document.
As proposed, members of the U.S. Armed Forces on
active duty traveling on orders will continue to be
exempt from the passport requirement.
Sincerely,
Donna Rowland
State Representative
34th Legislative District
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