I thought of that. Depending on who you ask, the Caribbean is in North America, both North and South America, or neither. But I was thinking parts of the Caribbean are more South American.
Debating getting a Passport Card
- Thread starter Carmudgeon
- Start date
I thought of that. Depending on who you ask, the Caribbean is in North America, both North and South America, or neither. But I was thinking parts of the Caribbean are more South American.
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2024
- Messages
- 160
In Washington the "Enhanced" drivers liscense is RealID compliant & gets you across the Canadian border easily.
The Canadian Boder folks will take a regular drivers liscense & birth certificate together to cross. The American side will let you back in with this, even though these documents are not technically compliant.
The Canadian Boder folks will take a regular drivers liscense & birth certificate together to cross. The American side will let you back in with this, even though these documents are not technically compliant.
I'm kind of confused about this since the Canadians say they will accept it, but US Customs and Border Protection officially says they won't accept that for adults. I would think the big issue is authenticating what is or isn't a real birth certificate. There are literally tens of thousands of different birth certificate forms issued by cities, counties, and and states in the US, including years of different forms issued even by the same jurisdiction. The State Dept might have the tools and time to check on birth certificates and possibly access birth record databases for passport applications. But perhaps not a customs agent with a line backing up in Blaine, Washington.
The biggest issue (as opposed to RealID with the star) with the enhanced DL/ID is that it's only available for US citizens. In states with RealID specific driver license/ID those are available to anyone who can demonstrate legal status in the US, including green card holders, refugees, H-1B workers, students, etc.
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2024
- Messages
- 160
Canada controls it's own border, they can let anyone in. The US side has zero say in who Canada let's in.
Coming back, US Customs is required to let anyone they believe to be a US Citizen across the border into the US.
My wife and I both got passports and cards 10 years ago. They are coming up for expiration so we need to renew them soon. My wife uses her passport card quite a bit as ID when she doesn't want to bring her D/L and she'll be renewing hers. I've never used mine, but with REAL ID on the horizon, it's not a bad idea to get one for a couple extra dollars.
Both CBP and CBSA have rules and discretion, land crossings are easier as long as travel reasons are there.
I cross back and forth about once a week and going into US to fill up with gas or to shop at Costco, going to a casino, even for dinner is considered reasonable here, we live 5 miles from border and I have Nexus card for 20 years now.
Funny story, last summer I accidentally took wife's Nexus card instead of mine and realized that only when it was time to scan and present it at border, I was going to get gas in US, they didn't make a deal out of it. 10 mins later I was coming back to Canada and due to the way on ramp is and long line up and people not letting me into regular lane, I was forced to stay and cross via Nexus. I apologized, explained the error, showed regular DL (not enhanced) in addition to wife's Nexus, told I couldn't get into regular lane, they didn't make an issue out of it. Technically, I didn't have proper document to cross in either direction.
As far as passport, again, you will need one if you go to Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa etc, as many countries require visa and/or at least records of entry and exit in passport. Example, if you transit thru China, and flights in and out are within 24hrs then you can get a 24hrs free permit on arrival not having to getting proper visa in advance but the stamps go into passport. They will let you change airports too, mind you I'm not sure about US citizens but said above applies to Canadians.
I cross back and forth about once a week and going into US to fill up with gas or to shop at Costco, going to a casino, even for dinner is considered reasonable here, we live 5 miles from border and I have Nexus card for 20 years now.
Funny story, last summer I accidentally took wife's Nexus card instead of mine and realized that only when it was time to scan and present it at border, I was going to get gas in US, they didn't make a deal out of it. 10 mins later I was coming back to Canada and due to the way on ramp is and long line up and people not letting me into regular lane, I was forced to stay and cross via Nexus. I apologized, explained the error, showed regular DL (not enhanced) in addition to wife's Nexus, told I couldn't get into regular lane, they didn't make an issue out of it. Technically, I didn't have proper document to cross in either direction.
As far as passport, again, you will need one if you go to Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa etc, as many countries require visa and/or at least records of entry and exit in passport. Example, if you transit thru China, and flights in and out are within 24hrs then you can get a 24hrs free permit on arrival not having to getting proper visa in advance but the stamps go into passport. They will let you change airports too, mind you I'm not sure about US citizens but said above applies to Canadians.
I’ve heard that even if a US citizen loses a travel document, they can go through databases. They should have full access to the databases for all the documents that they would normally accept.
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2024
- Messages
- 160
Many people who go to Canada have never gotten the proper documents to cross back.
How? If they're let into Canada with a birth certificate, there has to be a record of the birth somewhere. Unless just walking across the border outside of a designated crossing. Or do you mean they don't have it and have to wait an eternity at secondary screening while someone looks up someone's status?
I believe that someone with a passport card could probably enter the US via air, even if they can't find a passport. Not being abled to find a passport isn't unusual. They're not in the business of denying entry to US citizens. I do remember seeing an Australian program on border entries, where an American citizen misplaced his passport on the plane and couldn't find it, even after an airline search. They called up the closest US consulate and verified his passport information and allowed him in. He had a valid visa, which would be associated with his passport number.
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2024
- Messages
- 160
This is so common, the border officers just let them through. They don't have the resources to check everyone without "proper" documents.
They didn't really check anyways before the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative went into effect. The official thing was a birth certificate was supposed to be sufficient in both direction, but I'd certainly heard of people heading to Canada and back just with a US driver license.
Officially they're stricter about a lot of things going between the US and Canada (or Mexico). It used to be possible for permanent residents to cross (by land or sea) in both directions with just a US or Canadian permanent resident card. Now a passport is supposedly required. There might be ways around it for someone who can't get a passport, like a former refugee who might be persona non grata with the country of origin. I've heard of these, but have never seen one in person. They're issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Services and not the State Department. It's not technically a passport, but it meets passport requirements. Not sure if there's an RFID tag inside, as I don't see the international symbol for that on the cover.
There's also the Permit to Re-Enter. Apparently it's the same cover, but the info page notes what it is.
I knew someone who had one in the 80s, and that had a white cover and was issued by the INS. Found an image:
The Passport Card is useful if you go to other countries where ID is required to enter a building and you don't want to carry your passport book around with you. Most of the time they take your state driver's license but not always, been turned down a couple of times. I got the passport card and no more problems.
If you just go to resorts, you don't need it. But if you have in-laws like I do in Brazil and stay some time in their city leading a more or less normal resident life, it's good to have.
If you just go to resorts, you don't need it. But if you have in-laws like I do in Brazil and stay some time in their city leading a more or less normal resident life, it's good to have.
Was easy when I was a kid growing up in Oregon in the 70s and 80s. Parents showed DL, kids didn't have to show any ID at all!
I think it was possible to go to Mexico and back to the US with one too.
The first time I'd ever heard of the passport card was from a series of commercials. They were kind of weird, but when I found out it was just $20 (the initial price, which went to $30 in less than 2 years), I said why not. This was an oddball series of commercials showing people who were doing things like one at a purported ski lodge in Canada. They were showing overlayed animated versions of travel documents (might have included one passport card and one NEXUS card), just following them around to demonstrate what they used to enter Canada. I think there was one guy in the scene who might have had a broken leg, and he's complaining about how long he was delayed crossing the border. Or at least that's what I remember since I can't seem to find one of these commercials on YouTube, Dailymotion, or Vimeo.
In my search, I did find this commercial for NEXUS or Enhanced DL/ID for Canadians. Don't know who wrote it, but they're talking about using the card to visit Toronto, Ohio and Vancouver, Washington. Really corny stuff.
I do find it odd that NEXUS cards for Canadians are issued by the US. The fee is in US dollars, even for Canadians.
NEXUS is designed to speed up border crossings into Canada and the United States (U.S.) for low-risk, pre-approved travellers. It is jointly run by the Canada Border Services Agency and U.S.Customs and Border Protection.
NEXUS memberships are valid for 5 years. There is a $120 (USD) non-refundable application processing fee.
To update this topic: two days after the processing center received my submission, the check was cashed; the day after, notification sent that the review was in process.
Eleven days later, notification came that the renewal was approved, and later the same day, word that the new passport was printed and shipped, with tracking number provided. People have said that the book (Priority Mail) and card (First Class Mail) arrive under separate cover, but the notice implies that they're shipped together. We shall see. IIRC, the previous invalidated supporting documents have always shipped separately.
Unless the USPS shipping process consumes two weeks, the entire renewal should be completed well under the quoted 4-6 week processing times. Not too shabby.
Beat the rush to prepare for the summer travel period, and do your business now if possible.
Eleven days later, notification came that the renewal was approved, and later the same day, word that the new passport was printed and shipped, with tracking number provided. People have said that the book (Priority Mail) and card (First Class Mail) arrive under separate cover, but the notice implies that they're shipped together. We shall see. IIRC, the previous invalidated supporting documents have always shipped separately.
Unless the USPS shipping process consumes two weeks, the entire renewal should be completed well under the quoted 4-6 week processing times. Not too shabby.
Beat the rush to prepare for the summer travel period, and do your business now if possible.
I think the shipment location might have changed over the years, and there are a lot of moving parts. It used to be that the passport card could only be printed at the State Department's contractor in Texas, and it was mailed directly from their facility. My kid's passport cards were always shipped separately, but the passports were issued by a regional passport agency office.
I think the last time I got my passport the card was mailed in the same envelope, but I can't be 100% sure. I had it sent to a relative's address and it was opened before I got it by someone else. I only saw one envelope though. I'm thinking that mail-in and online renewals are processed at a primary passport center that probably can produce the passport cards now. I have one passport that indicates that it was from the "National Passport Center". They used to indicate a specific location where the passport was printed, but now they only say they're issued by the State Dept.
When I renewed my documents, the book and card came separately. This was 6 years ago, though.
There may not be any consistency to all this. Most mail-in or online renewals are supposed to be done at a central place, although I think these days the mailing address varies depending on the state that the passport (and/or card) will be mailed to. But if you do it the old fashioned way (go to a passport acceptance facility) it all goes to a regional passport agency assigned to that facility. And obviously that's the case for expedited requests at a regional passport agency's office. I've been there for an expedited request. The passport was available at the office for pickup, but the passport card was mailed and took a few weeks. But at an "acceptance facility" I saw the application go into a big envelope that was already addressed to the regional passport agency.
The other thing is that I don't think passport cards are expedited.
They might also be able to redistribute the load at different passport agencies now, where one with less of a backlog can print up passports that were assigned to a different office.
So, except for the return of the expired docs, which usually lags, I now have everything in hand.
All told, 15 business days, or 19 calendar days to complete the renewal process, starting from the day the application was delivered to the processing center. Being a renewal might have made it easier, but still pretty, pretty good.
Compared to the previous book, the first page with all the information is now entirely a hard card. Compared to the old color picture, the new one is less saturated, or even black and white, and has a hologram covering one quadrant. There is a duplicate of the number in hole-punched characters, and a very subtle debossing of Mr. Rushmore, among other small features on the surface. Delivery was certainly no frills, just a half-doc sized Priority Mail envelope containing the book, and nothing else. Return address is located in NH, but tracking trail from AZ distribution center.
Card was sent separately via First Class, with same NH return address in plain white #10 envelope. Not tracked, so origin unknown. Card is attached to cover letter, but also included is a protective sleeve to safeguard the "sensitive electronics" when not in use. Its cover page states that the RFID chip does not contain PII, just pointers to government databases. The card itself also has a desaturated picture, partially covered by a hologram. It has a different number, which is embossed, as well as DOB and expiration date. It is said that only the books can be expedited, the cards do not have such an option.
Assuming the rules don't change, it will be possible to perform the application process online next time, making it even easier, and pay by credit card, not paper check as required by the mail-in process.
All told, 15 business days, or 19 calendar days to complete the renewal process, starting from the day the application was delivered to the processing center. Being a renewal might have made it easier, but still pretty, pretty good.
Compared to the previous book, the first page with all the information is now entirely a hard card. Compared to the old color picture, the new one is less saturated, or even black and white, and has a hologram covering one quadrant. There is a duplicate of the number in hole-punched characters, and a very subtle debossing of Mr. Rushmore, among other small features on the surface. Delivery was certainly no frills, just a half-doc sized Priority Mail envelope containing the book, and nothing else. Return address is located in NH, but tracking trail from AZ distribution center.
Card was sent separately via First Class, with same NH return address in plain white #10 envelope. Not tracked, so origin unknown. Card is attached to cover letter, but also included is a protective sleeve to safeguard the "sensitive electronics" when not in use. Its cover page states that the RFID chip does not contain PII, just pointers to government databases. The card itself also has a desaturated picture, partially covered by a hologram. It has a different number, which is embossed, as well as DOB and expiration date. It is said that only the books can be expedited, the cards do not have such an option.
Assuming the rules don't change, it will be possible to perform the application process online next time, making it even easier, and pay by credit card, not paper check as required by the mail-in process.
Spouse is a naturalized US citizen and I was worried about "them" coming and demanding proof of citizenship, so applied for the passport card to put in the wallet and an extra large book with extra pages for stamps. They issued it in December so we won't have to worry about renewing it until the end of 2034.
Sadly, the passport card is turning into a sort of "internal passport" in case "they" show up.
It used to be far less useful to have one, now we both do.
I didn't want it turning into a situation where they potentially would throw a US citizen into the back of an unmarked van and then I get to try to find out what happened.