www.sdchamber.org

Public Policy Update

By Angelika Villagrana, Executive Director of Public Policy

New passport requirements are slated to begin June 1, 2009 for U.S. citizens crossing land borders. Currently, U.S. and Canadian citizens 19 years and older who enter the U.S. at land and sea ports of entry from within the Western Hemisphere have to present a government issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license as proof of identity, along with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or naturalization certificate, passport or a SENTRI card.

On June 1, 2009, the U.S. government will implement the full requirements of the land and sea phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) which requires most U.S. citizens entering the United States at sea or land ports (such as the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa Ports of Entry) to have a passport, passport card or WHTI compliant document.  Verbal claims of citizenship and identity are no longer sufficient to establish identity and citizenship for entry into the United States.

The Los Angeles Passport Agency has started a public outreach campaign about the requirements of WHTI and is holding a Passport Fair in San Diego on February 13 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Caltrans, 4050 Taylor Street in Old Town. Download information on the February 13th Passport Fair.

In order to mitigate the cost of a regular passport for frequent border crossers, the U.S. Department of State has begun production of the new U.S. passport card, a convenient, wallet-sized document at almost one fourth of the cost of a passport.  The passport and/or passport card is also available at www.travel.state.gov.

The Chamber encourages frequent land border crossers to get their travel documents well before the June 1, 2009 deadline to avoid processing delays. 

For more information on WHTI and WHTI compliant documents, please visit the U.S. Department of State web site.