Conflicting moves by federal agencies and Congress to modify passport requirements for U.S. citizens returning to the country have caused widespread confusion among travelers, experts say.
The House voted late last week to delay until June 2009 a requirement that Americans returning from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean show a passport to re-enter the country by land or sea.
A Senate committee has approved a similar delay and the full chamber is scheduled to vote on that bill in a few weeks.
“Nobody can say with the straight face that the federal government is ready for this,” said Rep. Steve LaTourette, D-Ohio, who sponsored the House delay. “If the new passport requirements for air travel gave us a taste of purgatory, the new land requirements will give us a bellyful and plenty of leftovers.”
Congress initially approved the passport rule in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Travelers returning to the United States from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean by air had to begin showing passports in January, but the federal government recently suspended that requirement until Sept. 30 if citizens could prove they have applied for a passport.
Congress did not address the requirement for air travel, so presumably Americans flying back to the country after that date would need passports.
To be on the safe side, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Martha Meade said, “Everyone who travels or thinks they may travel in the future should have a valid passport at all times and should ensure that they apply in plenty of time to have their passport renewed before allowing it to expire.”
The average wait for a passport has reached 10 to 12 weeks, about double the time that processing took before January.
The Bush administration opposes the legislation delaying the new deadlines.
“To simply kick it down the road and put it into a position where we’re going to wait [18 months] is to really create a window of vulnerability,” Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff told the Associated Press.
Passport proposal
American citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean will not need a valid passport to return to the United States by land or sea until June 2009 under legislation that is moving through Congress. Without congressional action, the requirement is scheduled to take effect January 2008.
