VANCOUVER - U.S. officials have a message for Canadians and Americans living in Canada: Don't procrastinate when it comes to getting the travel documents you'll need to cross the border beginning next June.
Those who put off getting a passport, Nexus border pass or electronically enhanced driver's licence might find themselves in the same backlog as other last-minute applicants.
"We do anticipate that there are going to be people who are going to wait until May 25, 2009, and then realize that oh, you know what, they haven't changed their mind about this implementation," said Alice Seddon, U.S. consular chief in Vancouver.
June 1 marks the final phase of the U.S. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, product of a 2004 law requiring tighter border-admission rules in the wake of the 9-11 terror attacks.
Increased border vigilance has been cited as a factor in a declining number of Americans travelling to Canada.
However, statistics from the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries in the U.S. show an increase in Canadian visitors to the U.S. up until last year. And Statistics Canada figures show the number of Canadian visitors to the U.S. continued to increase into early 2008.
For the last year, air travellers have needed passports or Nexus cards, which require a background check.
By next summer those arriving at land crossings will also need a passport, Nexus card or the enhanced driver's licence. The licences will not be usable for air travel.
Americans can also opt for a wallet-sized passport card with the same kind of microchip as the Nexus card and enhanced driver's licence.
The chip, which contains a code number and no personal data, will be scanned as the card holder approaches a border point and will give the officer advance information that officials promise will speed up border crossings.
"We don't like wait times," Ricardo Scheller, customs and border protection attache at the U.S. embassy, said Monday in a video conference from Ottawa.
Homeland Security attache Theresa Brown said compliance with the air rules has been high, with up to 98 per cent of travellers having the correct documents.
Scheller said he expects similar compliance once the land rules are in place.
Until next June, Canadian and American travellers crossing by land can still use a combination of government-issued identification and proof of citizenship. Foreigners, including landed immigrants, will need additional documentation.
British Columbia has a pilot program for an enhanced driver's licence, while neighbouring Washington State has already issued several thousand enhanced licences.
A number of other U.S. states have signed on to the program and Scheller said American officials are working with several provinces, including Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario, for such licences.
By this fall, 39 major crossing points along the Canadian and Mexican border will have all lanes equipped to read the enhanced licences or U.S. passport cards, Scheller said.
"Our goal is to have all of the major ports at some point to have the RFID (scanning) technology," he said, adding the 39 initial border points represent 80 per cent of the crossing volume.
http://travel.canoe.ca/Travel/News/2008/07/28/6290806-cp.html
Topic: U.S. officials: No grace period for land-border passport rule in 2009 (Read 2007 times)