Are you happy with US decision to require passport to see Mexico and Canada?

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Cariad

What I am unhappy about is the way the USA seems to have purposely been ambigous about it all. So many people are confused about what the law is, including the person who posted this.

There has been no US decision to "see Mexico and Canada". The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is a law which requires anyone "entering or re-entering" the USA to have a passport. (by air since January 23, 2007, by water and land as soon as January 2008)

What is enter? That means on the first part of a trip you go to the USA. eg A Canadian would be entering the USA if we went from Winnipeg to Florida

What is re-enter? Re-enter is when you started in the USA, went elsewhere and are now coming back. eg A traveller starts in Grand Forks and flies to Toronto (no passport needed at this point) and then comes HOME to the USA (that is your "Re-entry" where you need a passport)

The USA does not make the entry requirements for any country besides it's own.

Anyways...all in all a person should have a passport when travelling. If a birth certificate or drivers license are lost when you are away from home, they can only be sent to your home address. A passport can be expedited to your hotel or Canadian Consulate. (which helps when you want to go home and don't have to wait a week or more and you have no money)

So...pain in the bum now means less headache later. :) (Happy about having everyone get passports? Not unhappy, just wish they would be more clear on why it is needed)

steph

i agree with the person you said you are mistaken

you only need a passport if you are traveling by air INTO the USA..

I will be traveling from Toronto to Chicago this April..
it was a bit of an inconvience to get my passport, but not as diffucult as they are saying.

I guess its a good idea for safety reasons.. and such.. but i am not really sure how well it will help

dumbbbutttholeee

No, not very happy. It just reflects the sadder state of affairs in life where fewer and fewer people can or do trust others. We already show ID in hundreds of areas of life, so chipping away a little more at any freedoms you made have had at one time won't make to much difference in the upcoming police state.

gummi bear

No and thats untrue. You do not need a passport to see Mexico and Canada. Only if you are coming to the US by air or boat do you need a passport. You can still drive to mexico and canada.

Anna E

No, I think it's just more proof of the fact that we are slowly devoliving into a police state. Do we really need any more erosions of our privacy and civil liberties? You needed ID to cross the border before, so it isn't as if you could cross the border incognito, the only difference is that now you must have a passport, and all new passports contain microchips that allow you to be tracked. Brave new world, anyone?

Cleo

If this is actually in place now, this isn't good news. Many Canadians who can't afford to travel by plane to different countries don't have passports. It will make it harder and more expensive to go to the states. However, the plus side is that they might travel in Canada more, but it's just not as warm in March as Florida, even Vancouver. I thought some of our politicians proposed updating a different identifying card and putting a huge amount of security on it... what ever happened to that plan?

babygirl

Does not bother me either way

deborah

everyone should be happy with it you need to know who is coming and going from all countries many criminals hide in Mexico and Canada

biffnasty

it a good idea, because canada has no spine, canada has become a breeding ground of terrorists.....and besides i dont want anymore canadians in America, they are embarrising

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