I was reading the June 2005 issue of "Dive Training" and on page 16 there is an article about how Passports will be REQUIRED for any travel to the Carribean after DEC 31 2005 and after 2006, one will be required for ANY travel outside the U.S.A. I Copied the article below for those of you that are intrested.
Dive Observer By Gene Gentrup
PACK A PASSPORT
New law extends to all travelers leaving U.S.
If you're planning a dive trip to the Caribbean next year, you'll need a passport, regardless of your destination. That's according to a new U.S. law designed to help secure the nation's borders.
Currently a driver's license or a birth certificate is enough to get you back into the United States and into dive destinations like Grand Cayman and the Bahamas.
Requiring passports improves border security because they are not as easily counterfeited as documents such as birth certificates, the U.S. government says.
The law signed late last year by President Bush will be enforced in three phases:
Right now U.S. citizens are not required to present a passport to enter or re-enter the United States when traveling within the Western Hemisphere, which includes North America, South America, Central America, Latin America, the West Indies, and the Caribbean.
With the new law, the number of new passports issued is expected to surge. The U.S. government issued or renewed more than 8.8 million U.S. passports in fiscal 2004, a 21 percent increase over 2000, which was followed by two years of declines in international travel. The 2003 figures rebounded to just above the 2000 level.
Expecting a wave of passport requests, the U.S. government encourages travelers needing a passport to apply early. Processing usually takes six to eight weeks.
A new adult passport costs $97, which includes a $12 security surcharge added in March and a $30 execution fee paid to the "acceptance facility" processing the application.
You cannot apply for a passport online but the State Department's Web site provides application forms that can be downloaded or printed, saving a trip to a passport office. Renewing a passport can be done online and is strongly encouraged. To do so, complete form DS-82, which can be downloaded from the State Department Web site, www.travel.state.gov/passport; enclose your most recent passport, two identical passport photos, and the passport renewal fee of $67; and send all items to the National Passport Center in Pittsburgh.
Dive Observer By Gene Gentrup
PACK A PASSPORT
New law extends to all travelers leaving U.S.
If you're planning a dive trip to the Caribbean next year, you'll need a passport, regardless of your destination. That's according to a new U.S. law designed to help secure the nation's borders.
Currently a driver's license or a birth certificate is enough to get you back into the United States and into dive destinations like Grand Cayman and the Bahamas.
Requiring passports improves border security because they are not as easily counterfeited as documents such as birth certificates, the U.S. government says.
The law signed late last year by President Bush will be enforced in three phases:
- Beginning December 31, 2005, a passport will be required for all travelers entering or re-entering the United States from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Central and South America. Central America includes the dive destinations of Belize, Honduras, and Costa Rica.
- By December 31, 2006, the requirement will extend to all air and sea travel to or from Mexico and Canada.
- It will apply to all air, sea and land border crossings by December 31, 2007.
Right now U.S. citizens are not required to present a passport to enter or re-enter the United States when traveling within the Western Hemisphere, which includes North America, South America, Central America, Latin America, the West Indies, and the Caribbean.
With the new law, the number of new passports issued is expected to surge. The U.S. government issued or renewed more than 8.8 million U.S. passports in fiscal 2004, a 21 percent increase over 2000, which was followed by two years of declines in international travel. The 2003 figures rebounded to just above the 2000 level.
Expecting a wave of passport requests, the U.S. government encourages travelers needing a passport to apply early. Processing usually takes six to eight weeks.
A new adult passport costs $97, which includes a $12 security surcharge added in March and a $30 execution fee paid to the "acceptance facility" processing the application.
You cannot apply for a passport online but the State Department's Web site provides application forms that can be downloaded or printed, saving a trip to a passport office. Renewing a passport can be done online and is strongly encouraged. To do so, complete form DS-82, which can be downloaded from the State Department Web site, www.travel.state.gov/passport; enclose your most recent passport, two identical passport photos, and the passport renewal fee of $67; and send all items to the National Passport Center in Pittsburgh.
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