New border rules start June 1

By DENISE A. RAYMO
Staff Writer

April 21, 2009 03:28 am

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Acceptable ID
The following forms of identification are acceptable after the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative begins on June 1:

U.S. passport: Allows the person to travel all over the world. An adult passport for those 16 and older is $100 and valid for 10 years. A child's passport for those under 16 is $85 and valid for five years.

U.S. passport card: Allows the person to travel internationally by land or sea, but not by air. An adult card for those 16 and older is $45 and is good for 10 years. A child's card is $35 and good for five years.

Enhanced Driver's License: Allows the person to travel by land, sea and domestic-air flights to and from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean. Used instead of a passport to prove citizenship and identity. Costs $15 to $30 above a regular driver's license.

Trusted Traveler Program card: Issued to low-risk travelers who cross either the U.S./Canada border (NEXUS; $50 and valid for five years); the U.S./Mexican border (SENTRI; $122.25 and valid for five years); or are commercial-truck drivers who cross either the northern or southern border (FAST/EXPRES, $50 and valid for five years).

MALONE — The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative deadline is getting closer.

Anyone expecting to travel outside the United States and Canada after June 1 must have a uniform type of identification to cross international borders.

And processing applications for passports, passport cards, Enhanced Driver Licenses and other forms of acceptable ID are keeping local county clerk's offices busy.

In Franklin County, Wanda Murtagh and her staff processed more than 30 passport applications on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation at Akwesasne last week and have had a steady flow of people wanting to obtain the new documents before the deadline.

It will take between four and six weeks from the time the application is submitted before the documents are returned, so the next few weeks will be critical for those who plan to travel across the border.

Two representatives from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection staff at the Trout River Port of Entry spoke to Franklin County legislators recently, answering questions about the new Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

Prosecution Officer Jason Barse said border agents now type driver information into a computer, question the vehicle occupants and verify as much information as they can before determining whether to let them pass.

But with the variety of identification papers presented to them from different states and countries, it's tough to determine if the paperwork presented is forged, he said, and an undesirable person may enter or leave the country as a result.

He said the unified documents will cut down on such cases because a radio-frequency chip embedded in them will track a person's movements and because they are hard to duplicate.

The scanable card is easier for agents to use and should move the traffic faster at all ports of entry.

And, Barse said, obtaining an internationally recognized identification for adults and children is the best way to ensure that Americans will get back in to the United States fast and without complications.

"We're not going to not accept U.S. citizens," he said, "but if you are an adult and go into Canada without documents, ... there's a good possibility you will be delayed, sent to a secondary check to verify your citizenship and verify your identity."

E-mail Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com