A drive south of the border into Mexico will soon require one more item on your pre-trip checklist – a passport. Beginning June 1, 2009, all travelers entering the US from Mexico will be required to carry a passport. This requirement has already been in effect for folks flying back from Mexico since January 2007. The changes in June will affect anyone traveling by land or sea. These changes are a result of the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act which led to the creation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, or WHTI. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to strengthen our borders and increase security while streamlining the process for identifying legitimate visitors and citizens trying to gain entry to the US.
Passports
Passports are nothing new to anyone familiar with international travel. They act as a convenient identification tool and security measure. Obtaining a passport is relatively easy to do. The application can be obtained online from the US Department of State website. There are many government offices that accept the passport applications as well as most US post office locations. Normal processing can take 8 to 10 weeks or more. There is an additional fee for expiditing the application process, but this will significantly reduce your wait time and this is highly recommended if your trip is less than 3 months away.
Passport Cards
In addition to regular passports, a new passport card has been created. This option is less expensive and allows for land and sea travel only to Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean region and Bermuda. The passport will be similar in looks and size to a drivers license and will make for quick identification and recognition at all border crossings. The application process time for the passport cards is around 3 weeks and the cost is about half that of the regular passport book.
Effects of Implementation
There has been much concern made about how all these changes in identification requirements will affect tourism to Mexico. As stated previously, passports have been required since early 2007 for all visitors traveling by plane and the negative effects have been minimal. In fact, Mexico is one of the top 10 international destinations for folks flying from the US and according to the Department of Commerce Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, there has been an increase of 5% in the number of travelers flying from the US to Mexico in 2008 versus 2007.
The initial rollout of the passport requirement for land travelers might cause a dip in the number of people crossing the border into the US. However, once the initiative is fully implemented, the whole process for checking folks across the border will be streamlined and eventually travelers should see a decrease in wait times. This is certainly welcome news for anyone that has sat in the long lines at the border typical of a busy weekend.
