What is needed to reenter the u.s. from a mexican border?

Question

What is needed to reenter the u.s. from a mexican border?

Answer 1

OMG!!  what are people talking about.  Ok, so I cross the Mexican border all the time. I have friends there, and i party there, and i go grab something to eat there all the time, so i would know right?

I cross with my California Drivers License all the time. You DON'T need a birth certificate !!??  I know it might say that on the government websites but they are not enforcing that at all. As of January 2008 though, you will need a passport, and theres a huge back order on them, because everyone will need one, so if i were you id order it now.

But for now all you need s your ID, or drivers license. they just ask you if your an American citizen, how you became a citizen(ie. naturalized, born here), what you were doing in Mexico, and what your bringing back. Remember only 1 bottle of alcohol per person, plants are prohibited, and some fruits are too, but you'll have to look at the border patrol website for that because its extremely long.

Good luck now...and have fun...and don't listen to people who only read info off of a government website.

Answer 2

If you are a U.S. citizen and travelling by LAND, you need a gov't issued picture I.D. and a certified copy of your birth certificate.

Answer 3

Don't need a passport to cross the mexican border.  Just bring your drivers license if you are a US citizen.

Answer 4

Charlie is right - it depends upon how you are planning to re-enter the US.  

If you are flying from Mexico to the US you will need a passport.  

If you are driving or walking across the border, you will need a valid form of US ID like your driver's license or military ID, and then a certified copy of your birth certificate.

Different rules apply if you are not  US citizen; for example, a resident alien.

Starting in January of 2008, you will need to have a passport to re-enter the United States no matter how you are traveling (including by land or sea).  So if you are planning your trip for next year, I would highly suggest applying for your passport now because they are super backlogged and it is taking up to 6 months for them to issue passports.  This is the information told to us by a US postal clerk who took our forms for our newborn son's new passport.  He advised my husband to renew his passport which is set to expire in '08 right away, because it could take that long to get the new one.

Things seem to get more complicated with time, don't they...

Good luck and have a great trip!