About the passport?

Question

Im in mexico city, I heard from some friends who came from bronsville them they ll need a passport to came to Mexico, if they dont have it until december 31 2007 they cant go to mexico and go back to texas, what is this ?

Answer 1

Yes, this is a new law put in place last winter - I don't know what you need to go to Mexico, but to come back by air you'll need a US passport.  This is in effect now.

To cross the border by car, the requirement will go into effect on December 31, 2007 - so in 2008 you'll need a passport to drive or walk across.

There was a huge backlog of passport applications this summer, but it seems to have eased.  Your friends will need to apply NOW.  If you are a US citizen living in Mexico, you'll probably need to contact your local consulate.

Answer 2

You need a passport to FLY to Mexico now.  Passports will not be needed for land travel until Jan. 2008 at the earliest.  This date will likely be moved back to summer of 2008, but the announcement has not yet been made.  Same applies for green card holders.  Green card holders cannot get an American passport.  They must use the passport from their home country.

Answer 3

It's homeland security.  New law.  You must have a passport to go to Mexico.

Answer 4

Mad mex has it spot on. New law , by air , need passport suspended for right now due to overloaded Passport bureau.Can go by car , ship, train without until Dec. The passport agency sucks.Keep it out of the Washington agency no matter what you do. Had it in a week thru Boston vs. 6 months of complete insanity in D.C. Got so bad both my Congressman and senator couldn't help. I simply gave up dealing with Washington and just did the whole process over ( $ 158 again ! ) and within a week thru Boston I had it. It cost me untold problems and money ................... If I could sue.........

Answer 5

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative will require all U.S. citizens, Canadians, citizens of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and citizens of Mexico to have a passport or other accepted secure document to enter or re-enter United States by January 1, 2008. The goal is to strengthen border security and facilitate entry into the United States for U.S. citizens and legitimate foreign visitors.

Answer 6

The US announced last year that as of this year any US citizen coming back from Mexico or Canada needed to have a passport to come back into the country.

In theory Air travelers needed to have a passport now and if you are driving back to the US you will need a passport after 31 Dec 2007.  They have changed the dates a few times because they could not process all the applications they got.  You can check the following link for more detailed information:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbp...

Again the change applies for your trip back to the USA.  The requirements to enter either Canada or Mexico have not changed.

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Your friends with their Greencards are not affected.  They have always needed their passport (I assume Mexican) and will continue to need it.  No change for them.