U.S. TO REQUIRE PASSPORTS

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U.S. TO REQUIRE PASSPORTS FOR NEARLY ALL AIR TRAVELLERS
 
 
  Nearly all air travellers entering the U.S. will be required to show passports beginning January 23, 2007, including returning Americans and travellers from Canada and other nations in the Western Hemisphere.  January 23 was disclosed Tuesday by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in an interview with The Associated Press. The Homeland Security Department plans to announce the change today.
 
 Until now, the department had not set a specific date for instituting the passport requirement for air travellers, though the start had been expected to be around the beginning of the year. Setting the date on January 23, 2007, pushes the start past the holiday season.  The requirement marks a change for Americans, Canadians, Bermudans and some Mexicans. Currently, U.S. citizens returning from other countries in the hemisphere are not required to present passports, but must show other proof of citizenship such as driver's licenses or birth certificates.
 
 Visitors from most countries in the hemisphere are required to show passports.  However, travellers from Canada, Bermuda — and those from Mexico who enter the U.S. frequently and have special border-crossing cards — have been allowed to use other forms of identification, including driver's licenses.
 
 In a few cases, other documents still may be used for air entry into the U.S. by some frequent travellers between the U.S. and Canada, members of the American military on official business and some U.S. merchant mariners.
 
 Under a separate program, Homeland Security plans to require all travellers, including Americans, entering the U.S. by land or sea to show a passport or an alternative security identification card starting as early as January 2008.
 
 The commission recommended strengthening security of travel documents. A 2004 law passed by Congress mandated the change to require passports as the only acceptable travel document, with few exceptions, but the exact date had been in question.  Canadian officials and some members of Congress from border states have expressed concern that the changes could interfere with travel and commerce.