Reminder : Passports Required for Western Hemisphere Air Travel
Posted Dec 08, 2006
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MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers are reminded that the first phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) will go into effect on January 23, 2007. This means that passports will be required of U.S. citizens, as well as citizens of Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda, seeking to enter the United States from anywhere within the Western Hemisphere by air. This topic was covered in our October 27, 2006 MurthyBulletin article, Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Update, available on MurthyDotCom.
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There are some very limited exceptions, involving other types of travel documents. These include Merchant Mariner Documents (MMD) issued by the U.S. Coast Guard and the NEXUS Air Card.
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For more details, the U.S. Department of State has helpful FAQs on their website. One item that may be particularly relevant to MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers asks about a U.S. Permanent Resident parent traveling with his/her child/ren who are U.S. citizens. In such a situation, the children need to obtain U.S. passports. While not stated, it can be inferred that this same rule would apply in instances involving parents in other immigration statuses who have U.S. citizen children.
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Travel by land or sea is not impacted by these changes at this time, but will be addressed in phase two of the WHTI.