Expedited Passports

It may still be cold and gloomy outside in many parts of the country, but make no mistake: spring is coming! That means it’s time to start planning for Spring Break.  And if your Spring Break plans are taking you outside of the country, you may need to get a passport.

To help you with your travel plans, here are the passport requirements for some of the more popular spring break travel destinations:

Mexico

Warm blue water,  gorgeous beaches and margaritas galore-what more could you want in a spring break destination? You probably need to get a passport before you can go party in Cancun, though.  For more details, see:

Do You Need a Passport to Go to Mexico?

US Citizens Visiting Mexico Face New Passport Requirements

Canada

If you prefer skiing and other winter sports to lazing around on the beach, Canada has some excellent ski resorts.  Most trips to Canada will require a passport.  For details of Canada’s passport requirements, see Do You Need a Passport to Go to Canada?

Europe

If you have the funds, springtime is one of the best times to visit Europe. The weather is nice, and because “high season” for travel to most European destinations is in the summer, visiting Europe in the spring means you get lower prices and fewer crowds.

Travel to Europe always and without exception requires a US passport.

The Caribbean

The Caribbean is another great place to go for a laid-back vacation filled with sun and sand.  However, most Caribbean travelers will need to get a passport before they leave.  For details, see:

Do You Need a Passport to Go to the Caribbean?

Cruises

A spring break cruise allows you to easily visit many different destinations for a great price.  Passport requirements for cruises depend on where you go. For more details, see:

Do You Need a Passport to Go On a Cruise?

If you need to get a passport for Spring Break, you’d better hurry-you don’t have much time. Regular passport processing can take at least 6 weeks. The government’s expedited processing option takes 2 to 3 weeks and costs an additional $60 plus overnight delivery fees.

If you need to get  a passport sooner than that, the most convenient way  is to use a private passport expediting company like RushMyPassport.com.  An expediting company will deliver your documents to directly to the Department of State, for processing times as low as 24 hours.

Get a passport today!

Canada and the US have a long tradition of being good neighbors to each other.  At one time, US citizens could cross the border with nothing more than a driver’s license. However, in recent years the laws have changed, leaving many confused.

Do you need a passport to go to Canada? In all likelihood, yes.  Since June 1, 2009, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) has required that Americans traveling to Canada by land or by sea carry one of the following documents as proof of citizenship:

• A US passport book
• A US passport card
• A NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST card
• An enhanced driver’s license (only available in certain states)

The only exceptions are for children and people on “closed-loop” cruises. Children under the age of 16 can use their birth certificates, naturalization certificates or certificates of citizenship instead of a passport if they are traveling by land or by sea.

Children under the age of 19 can use birth certificates, too, provided they are traveling with an organized group such as a school group, church group, sports team, volunteer group or cultural organization.  The group must be supervised by an adult and carry a letter on organization letterhead that contains the name of the group, the names of the supervising adult and the children, and a signed statement certifying that parental permission has been obtained for all children on the trip.

Americans traveling to Canada on a closed-loop cruise (one that begins and ends in the same US port) can travel with their driver’s licenses or state -issued ID cards and their birth certificates or naturalization certificates.

Now, if you traveling to Canada by plane, the rules are different. You need a passport book (the passport card won’t cut it), and there are no exceptions, even for children.  Even if you are traveling by land or by sea, it’s a good idea to use a passport book in case you have to fly home unexpectedly.

RushMyPassport can make applying for  a passport much easier and faster. We’ll help you with your application and hand-deliver it to the US Department of State, resulting in processing times as low as 24 hours.

Apply for your passport with us today!

All Larry and Gladys Williams wanted was to go on a cruise to Alaska. However, their dream was denied when they showed up  at port in Seattle without passports, according to the Dallas Morning News. Larry Williams had assumed that passports weren’t necessary for the journey, since the cruise began in Seattle and ended in Alaska.

However, the ship wasn’t sailing straight from Seattle to Alaska-there was also a stop at a Canadian port.   The final part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, a new law that went into effect on June 1, 2009, requires Americans traveling from the US to Canada (or Mexico, or the Caribbean)  to carry their passports.

Since they didn’t have the appropriate documentation, the couple was sent home.  They planned to try again this year, but the US Department of State required additional documentation when Gladys wasn’t able to present an acceptable birth certificate.  She finally has a new passport now, and they plan to set sail next year!

The moral of the story? Apply for a passport as soon as possible.  As Gladys told the Dallas Morning News, “You just never know what kind of problem you may run into. I should have done this years ago.”

If you need a new passport, an expediting company like RushMyPassport.com can assist you with the application process. You’ll work with a professional passport specialist and get detailed instructions to help you navigate the application process. Plus, we’ll forward your application by hand to the Department of State, resulting in processing times as short as 24 hours.

Apply for your new passport with RushMyPassport.com today!

Recreational boaters in the Great Lakes region have long enjoyed sailing across the Canadian border to visit our neighbors to the north.  However, security concerns and regulations have made what was once an easy trip a little bit more complicated.

On Monday, June 1st, another set of restrictions became effective as the US Government rolled out the final phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). With the WHTI, US citizens traveling to Canada by land or by sea now need to carry a government-approved travel document, such as:

• A US Passport Book
• A US Passport Card
• An Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) , which is only available if you live in certain states
• NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST card

In addition, pleasure boat operators have some additional responsibilities when it comes to entering Canada.  If you’re the captain, you need to steer your boat to the nearest marine port of entry and have the following information handy:

• Name
• Birthday
• Citizenship information and  passport numbers for everyone aboard the boat
• Your boat’s name  and registration number
• Home port, current location  and contact information.

Only one person (usually the boat’s owner) should exit the boat to report that you’ve arrived. For more information on taking a pleasure boat into Canada, check out the following brochure from the New York Sea Grant.

A US passport book is more expensive than a passport card or some of the other acceptable documents, but it has some  advantages. First, passports are good for 10 years, longer than Enhanced Driver’s Licenses. Second, a US passport book is necessary to travel to and from Canada by plane. The other documents, including a passport card, are only acceptable for land and sea travel.

When you apply for your US passport, it’s best to allow at least 2 months for it to arrive. Even with the government’s expedited service, you’re advised to allow at least 3 weeks.  But have no fear-if you need a US passport to take your boat into Canada, you can get one in plenty of time to do so this summer. A private passport expediting company can offer faster service. Different processing options are available, ranging from 24 hours to a little over a week. Plus, you’ll get personalized service from knowledgeable professionals, greatly reducing the hassle of applying for a passport.

Apply for your US passport today!

Today, Border Patrol officials began asking Americans for passports at the American and Canadian borders.  The final phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is in effect, and a passport or another government-approved document is now required to re-enter the country.

How has this affected traffic across the borders? Not much, it seems. The Houston Chronicle is reporting that wait times at both the northern border with Canada and the southern border with Mexico are normal today, and that the new rules haven’t caused an increase in travel time for most American citizens.

However, not everyone who regularly crosses the border has the correct documents.  FoxTV in El Paso reported that a flood of people applying for a last-minute passport has led some residents to camp out at the local county courthouse to make sure that their passport application gets in.

The new regulations require that American citizens returning from Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean show a US passport, US passport card, or other approved ID to reenter the country. There are some exceptions for children and certain cruise passengers.  For more on the new regulations, see Do I Need a Passport For Travel To Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean?

For now, the government is letting people through without passports with a written warning, often after delaying them for a background check. However, they aren’t saying how long that policy will continue, so if you’re planning on visiting our neighbors to the north and south anytime soon, you need to apply for a passport.

Passport applications usually about two months to process, so you should apply well in advance. Even if you ask for the government’s expedited processing service, expect to wait at least a month. For faster service, you can submit your application through a private passport expediting company instead. These companies will carry your application to the Department of State by hand for processing times that can be as quick as 24 hours. Unlike the process of applying for an emergency passport directly through the government, there are no appointments necessary and you don’t have to travel out of your way to a Passport Agency office. The expediting company handles all of that for you!

Don’t get caught unprepared at the border-order your passport today!

US citizens planning a trip to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean need to be aware of new travel requirements that will become effective June 1st, 2009. After June 1st,  the days of being able to cross the border by flashing your driver’s license and your birth certificate are over.  US citizens traveling to these regions will need to show US passports or passport cards to re-enter the country…or else!

Right about now, your inner three-year-old is probably asking “Oh yeah…or else what?” What happens if you try to get back in to the US without a passport after June 1st? Will you be trapped at the border forever? Arrested?

Fortunately, the consequences for American citizens trying to re-enter the country without US passports after the deadline are not quite that grim. According to the US government’s fact sheet on the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, travelers will “likely experience a delay as U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers attempt to verify your identity and citizenship.” In other words, expect to be massively inconvenienced.

Being held up by Customs and Border Protection is no small matter…delays in getting home can result in having to pay extra for lodging, missing work and many other inconveniences. It’s also worth noting that if you are planning on traveling on a cruise or with a professional tour group, they probably won’t let you leave the US with them in the first place if you don’t have the right documents for re-entry.

So, please, don’t forget your US passports!

If you have a trip planned for Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean, the fastest way to get US passports is to use a private passport expediting service.  When you use an expediting service, you get the benefit of faster processing and more personal customer service.

RushMyPassport.com offers a variety of processing times for applications for US passports to make sure your trip stays on schedule. For the fastest service, order your US passports from us today!

Businesses on both sides of the Mexican and Canadian borders are concerned about the potential impact of new passport laws for travelers crossing into Mexico and Canada by land or sea. At one time, you didn’t need a passport to travel to Mexico or Canada. However, in 2007, under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, the government began requiring passports for people re-entering the US from Mexico or Canada by air. Starting in June of 2009, the government will also require passports for people traveling to Mexico, Canada and Bermuda by land and sea.

As MSNBC reports, businesses that depend on tourists from across the Mexican and Canadian borders are concerned that the new requirements may adversely affect on their business. For example, the MSBNC report notes that at the Jay Peak Ski Resort in Vermont, almost half of the visitors are Canadian.  Resort owners fear that many of these visitors are not yet aware of the new passport requirements for driving across the border, which could cause people without passports to change or even cancel their travel plans.

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It used to be so easy to pop in for a visit to our neighbors in Mexico and Canada. Years ago, all you had to do was verbally declare your citizenship at the border. Then, the government passed the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).  WHTI tightened identification requirements for people traveling to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. So, do you need a passport to go to Canada? Do you need a passport to go to Mexico? Right now, you don’t need a passport to go to either of these countries by land or by sea, but you do if you’re flying in. However, starting June 1, 2009, you will need a passport or another form of WHTI-compliant ID to cross the border, period. For most people, a passport or a passport card is the easiest WHTI-compliant document to obtain.

According to this interesting post on the LA Times’ Daily Deal blog, it’s a good idea to get your passport application in now if you plan to travel out of the country in 2009.  In the past, changes in passport requirements have caused massive increases in the number of passport applications the department has to process.  In 2007, a deluge of extra passport applications increased the processing time required for new or updated passports. It’s possible that the new 2009 passport laws could have the same effect. Of course, the fastest and most foolproof way to apply for your passport is to use a passport expediting service like RushMyPassport.com.  With an expediting service, you have a professional to review your passport application, catch any mistakes, and personally see that it gets processed in the promised amount of time.  It’s hard to beat that type of service!