Boating Across the Canadian Border? Bring Your US Passport! - Expedited Passports

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, 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!