02/11/2007

News / Passport changes in effect

On Jan. 23, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security put regulations into effect requiring air travelers to have valid passports.

People "traveling by air between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda must present a valid passport, Air NEXUS card, U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document or an Alien Registration Card," Homeland Security notes in the new requirement.

Since 2006, travel agencies in the Shoals have worked to alert their clients to the new regulation.

"We've been letting clients know about this (change) for months," Ideal Travel co-owner Renee Reid said.

"Because we have been pre-warning for the past year, we have not had anybody to have an issue."

Travel between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda by sea and land won't require a passport until 2008.

Having a passport, however, makes land and sea travel easier.

For example, a passenger on a cruise ship is not required to carry a passport.

But if the passenger has an emergency and needs to get home quickly, he or she will not be allowed to fly without the proper documentation.

"A passport makes it easier to travel because you don't have to keep up with your birth certificate and photo ID," Travel Unlimited manager Pamela Murphy said.

Murphy said possession of a valid passport makes it easier for travelers to prove their identity.

To register for a passport, travelers must first pick up an application from the circuit clerk's office at their local courthouse or download one at travel.state.gov.

Adult passports, which last for 10 years, cost $97. Children's passports last for five years and cost $82.

Required materials for passport application include a certified birth certificate and photo ID.

Birth certificates are returned with passports.

With the current backlog, applicants should receive their passports in six to eight weeks.

Traci Lovelace, Lauderdale County Circuit Clerk court specialist, said 10 to 15 people a day are registering for passports.

Travelers running late on passport applications may go through a expedited process.

"If there's an issue, (clients) can pay extra to expedite their passports," Reid said.

Lovelace said some applicants have expedited passports through the circuit clerk's office with little or no difficulty.

Travelers registering for valid passports must have two photos. Passport photos may be made at locations like Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy and K-Mart.

Some travelers may have trouble receiving their passports because of special circumstances.

For example, Murphy said one man, whose birth was assisted by a midwife, did not have a certified birth certificate.

"He had to get proof that he had been born," Murphy said.

For travelers in similar situations, records of baptisms or school-age vaccinations may be used to obtain a birth certificate.

With the volume of travelers registering for passports, Murphy urges all travelers to get their passports early.

"Everything will be easier," she said.


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