Needing Passport

[arpie05]

THere is always a "DO I NEED A PASSPORT?" question....

 

I just saw this article....

 

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending-now/us-passport-changes-coming-what-you-need-to-know/463926881

 

 

The State Department said it experienced an “unprecedented surge” in passport applications during 2007 due to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. That law was enacted by the 9/11 Commission, making passports mandatory for all travel to and from Mexico, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean.

 

 

Travelers using IDs issued by certain states could be turned away at the gate beginning Jan. 30, 2017,

The following states remain noncompliant Jan 2017

Kentucky

Maine

Oklahoma

Pennsylvania

S. Carolina

 

The following states did not receive an extension for 2016 or 2017.

 

Minnesota+

Missouri

Washington+

 

https://www.dhs.gov/current-status-states-territories

[poobears]

The mandatory passport travel does not include close looped cruises which is what most cruises are. They include repositioning cruises and cruises to certain countries/ports only.

 

If you leave out of say New Orleans and go to Cozumel and back to New Orleans you do NOT need a passport to do it. A BC and government issued ID is all you need, that hasn't changed. You will however need a passport if something happens and you need to fly back into the US.

[riffatsea]

AGREE with poobears above.

Closed loop cruisers still do NOT need a passport to cruise. It is still a good idea to have one if you need to fly home.

Folks going on those repositioning Panama Canal cruises WILL need passports.

[pms4104]

The operative info is that passports are not required for closed loop cruises ... however, for residents of the states not in compliance with the REAL ID Act, a passport may be required even for domestic flights (as well as for closed loop cruises) because their driver licences will not satisfy the government ID requirement.

[joepeka]

Interesting thing about my home state (AZ), although it is now compliant with REAL ID in that it is issuing drivers licenses and ID cards that meet the federal requirement, residents are being told there's no rush to convert those old non-compliant cards to REAL ID cards. We have until 2020 to do that so in the meantime, TSA is supposed to accept those technically non-compliant AZ state-issued ID's. I would hate to be a TSA agent and trying to keep all these varying levels of state compliance straight. :(

Edited November 4, 2016 by joepeka

[sparks1093]

Interesting thing about my home state (AZ), although it is now compliant with REAL ID in that it is issuing drivers licenses and ID cards that meet the federal requirement, residents are being told there's no rush to convert those old non-compliant cards to REAL ID cards. We have until 2020 to do that so in the meantime, apparently TSA is supposed to accept those in-fact non-compliant AZ state-issued ID's. I would hate to be a TSA agent and trying to keep all these varying levels of state compliance straight. :(

 

That's what computers are for;).

[joepeka]

That's what computers are for;).

Well, I've never seen a TSA agent at our airport in Phoenix with access to a computer at the head of the screening line where they check your ID and boarding pass. :)

[poobears]

My girls passports expired and I didn't renew them yet but they have state IDs so I used their BCs this time. The only mention the custom agent made of them was thanking me for getting a state ID for the girls she said you wouldn't believe how many parents don't bother getting a real ID for their kids. I said well they have passports they just expired and I didn't get them renewed in time, I will before our next trip. She said no I mean they only have photos like school pictures or ones on their dang cell phones. Then when something happens to the kid it can take us hours to get that photo located and into the system and processed. A photo like this I can have nationwide in seconds because it's already in our database, this can save your childs life. Good job Mom. Gotta say I never even considered that when I got their IDs but I'm sure glad I have them now.

[sparks1093]

Well, I've never seen a TSA agent at our airport in Phoenix with access to a computer at the head of the screening line where they check your ID and boarding pass. :)

 

The scanner they use has to be hooked up to something;).

[joepeka]

The scanner they use has to be hooked up to something;).

Unless something has changed in the last 14 months (entirely possible), the TSA agents in Phoenix at the screening lines don't scan your ID. They may pass it over a light to detect security features but I think that's all. If someone here has flown out of Phoenix recently and can confirm the scanning process, I will obviously stand corrected but I'm not sure old, non-compliant ID's could be adequately scanned. :o

 

Edit: Didn't mean to take this thread off course..... my apologies.

Edited November 5, 2016 by joepeka

[easyboy]

Edit: Didn't mean to take this thread off course..... my apologies.

On the contrary, your diverse points have enlightened more the issue at hand.

[momonthego17]

Does this affect domestic flights? My 16 year old has a drivers permit but my 14 year old just has a birth certificate. We live in South Carolina. Do I need to get my children passports to fly from Charlotte to Chicago in May 2017? Thanks !

[sparks1093]

Unless something has changed in the last 14 months (entirely possible), the TSA agents in Phoenix at the screening lines don't scan your ID. They may pass it over a light to detect security features but I think that's all. If someone here has flown out of Phoenix recently and can confirm the scanning process, I will obviously stand corrected but I'm not sure old, non-compliant ID's could be adequately scanned. :o

 

Edit: Didn't mean to take this thread off course..... my apologies.

 

No worries, I could have misunderstood what I've seen done with licenses at the checkpoint (it did look to me like the barcodes were being scanned). In any event I'm sure if it's not something that is currently done that the technology exists to make it happen.

[sparks1093]

Does this affect domestic flights? My 16 year old has a drivers permit but my 14 year old just has a birth certificate. We live in South Carolina. Do I need to get my children passports to fly from Charlotte to Chicago in May 2017? Thanks !

 

This is what the TSA website has to say:

 

Do I need a passport to travel domestically in 2016 and 2017?

 

No. TSA will continue to accept driver’s licenses and identification cards from all states until January 22, 2018.

[momonthego17]

Great! Thx!

[Bookbug53]

An easier table to follow than reading government doublespeak. :p

 

https://www.dhs.gov/real-id-and-you-rumor-control

[sparks1093]

An easier table to follow than reading government doublespeak. :p

 

https://www.dhs.gov/real-id-and-you-rumor-control

 

Great site, it's now bookmarked:).

[easyboy]

An easier table to follow than reading government doublespeak. :p

 

https://www.dhs.gov/real-id-and-you-rumor-control

Thanks for the link.