Get Your Passport Now!

Get ready for mobile living now.

Before 9/11 you or I could travel out of America for a three day weekend and talk our way back into America with just a New York accent. September 11 changed the world and Congress decided America needed more security so The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative was born.

Phase I of the initiative went into effect in January 2007 and simply requires American citizens who travel to Canada, Mexico, parts of the Carribean and Central America by air to have a US passport when they return to America.

Phase II is slated to go into affect some time between Jan 08 – June 09. That requires American citizens who travel to Canada, Mexico, parts of the Carribean and Central America by land to have a US passport when they return to America.

Media coverage has been successful in letting the American public know about this new requirement. So well in fact that there was a 44% increase in the first half of this year in the number of people applying for passports.

Consular Affairs’ 2 mega centers and 17 agencies have been working around the clock to meet this demand. Extra call centers were set up to take calls from concerned citizens making sure they would get their passports on time. An additional mega center was set up in Arkansas to handle an anticipated 12 -18 million passports this year.

In february, the Department of Homeland Security issued Temporary Passport Flexibility for those who have applied for but have not received their passports. You just need to have proof of application.

Travelers as well as non travelers are finding the passport as a valuable piece of paper because it indicates:

1. Proof of citizenship
2. Proof of Identity

and the demand for this proof is increasing everywhere.

Count on 10 weeks to receive your passport after applying and definitely pay for expedited service if you need it within 2 weeks.
Go to www.travel.state.gov to find how to apply for a passport or see the status of your application.

Also at the site you can register and let Consular Affairs know where you are going in case something happens where you are, or someone in America needs to reach you in an emergency. The embassy will be able to contact you – and they will – and can get you home.

Reports are that when the tsunami struck in Thailand and Sri Lanka, those who were registered were found and got help more readily and made it home faster.

Here is a tip – When you get your passport, open it up and read the list of travel tips inside.

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