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Important Change in International Land and Sea Travel

Document Procedures

By Angelika Villagrana

Effective January 31, 2008, U.S. and Canadian citizens ages 19 and older were no longer able to expect that they will be able to prove identity and citizenship by relying on oral declaration alone. Instead, travelers will be asked to present documents from one of the options below when entering the United States at land or sea ports of entry. Travelers who do not present one of the documents listed below may be delayed as U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers attempt to verify their identity and citizenship.

U.S. and Canadian Citizens – Single Document Option

One of the following documents should be presented to prove both identity and citizenship as of January 31, 2008:

• U.S. or Canadian Passport
• U.S. Passport Card* (Available spring 2008 – http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3926.html
• Trusted Traveler Cards (NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST)*
• Enhanced Tribal Cards (when available)*
• U.S. Military Identification with Military Travel Orders
• U.S. Merchant Mariner Document
• Native American Tribal Photo Identification Card
• Form I-872 American Indian Card
• Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) Card

* Frequent Land Border Crossers — to expedite processing into the United States, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recommends using one of the above asterisked documents.

U.S. and Canadian Citizens – Two Document Option

All U.S. and Canadian citizens who do not have one of the documents from the list above must present BOTH an identification and citizenship document from each of the lists below.

Identification Documents*

• Driver’s license or identification card issued by a federal, state, provincial, county, territory, or municipal authority
• U.S. or Canadian military identification card

* All identification documents must have a photo, name and date of birth.

Citizenship Documents

• U.S. or Canadian birth certificate issued by a federal, state, provincial, county, territory or municipal authority
• U.S. Consular report of birth abroad
• U.S. Certificate of Naturalization
• U.S. Certificate of Citizenship
• U.S. Citizen Identification Card
• Canadian Citizenship Card
• Canadian certificate of citizenship without photo

U.S. and Canadian Citizens – Procedures for Children

Effective January 31, 2008, U.S. and Canadian citizen children ages 18 and under will be expected to present a birth certificate issued by a federal, state, provincial, county or municipal authority.

For Travelers other than U.S. and Canadian Citizens

All existing nonimmigrant visa and passport requirements will remain in effect and will not be altered by the changes that are implemented on January 31, 2008.

U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents
Permanent Resident Card (I-551) or other valid evidence of lawful permanent residence is required.

Mexican Citizens
Mexican citizens, including children, must present a valid passport and a B-1/B-2 nonimmigrant visa or a Border Crossing Card.

For further information, please visit http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/