Source: USA Today
Author: Laura Bly

Next week marks another chapter in a long, often confusing saga of changing U.S. entry rules: As of Monday, U.S. airline passengers will once again need to carry a valid passport when traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean or Bermuda.

This summer, after a deluge of applications and complaints of months-long backups, the Bush administration had temporarily waived new passport requirements that took effect Jan. 23 under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. (Travelers still needed proof that they'd applied for a passport.)

Now, with extra staff on board and the summer travel crunch over, the State Department says it has cut passport processing times to six weeks for a routine application and three weeks for expedited service. For the fiscal year ending Sunday, the department issued an estimated 18 million passports, up from 12.1 million in 2006.

Starting Jan. 31, Americans returning by land or sea from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean must, for the first time, show either a valid passport or both a birth certificate or other proof of citizenship and government-issued photo ID such as a driver's license.

But what happens next remains uncertain.

The Bush administration still plans to implement tighter rules sometime next summer (the exact date will be announced with at least 60 days' notice) that would mandate a passport or another to-be-determined document for most U.S. travelers who re-enter by land or sea. Cruise passengers on sailings that start and end in the USA could continue to show only a government-issued photo ID and birth certificate or other proof of citizenship.

Also exempt from the new passport requirement: U.S. and Canadian citizens under 16, plus children 18 and under traveling in designated groups.

For tips, application wait times and downloadable application forms: travel.state.gov/passport.

• For a first passport, you'll need to apply in person at one of about 9,000 post offices, public libraries or other government offices.
• Take a certified copy of your birth certificate, two identical 2-inch-by-2-inch color photographs, a valid photo identification, an application form and fee for the new passport. It is good for 10 years ($97 for travelers 16 and older and $82 for those under 16).
• Passport renewals cost $67. If your passport is undamaged and less than 15 years old, you were at least 16 when it was issued and you have the same name (or can legally document your name change), you can renew by mail.
• If you're traveling in less than three weeks, consider paying $60 for expedited service, plus overnight-delivery fees.
• Last-minute travelers leaving within two weeks who haven't yet applied for a passport should make an appointment to visit one of 14 regional passport offices. To make an appointment by e-mail, visit travel.state.gov/passport, click on " About Passport Services," then " National Passport Services Center." By phone: 877-487-2778. The call center is staffed from 6 a.m. to midnight ET, Monday-Friday, plus limited weekend hours. According to the State Department website, the best time to call is after 8:30 p.m. or before 9 a.m. ET.
• Travelers who already have applied can check their status at travel.state.gov/passport. Click " Online Application Status Check." Current applications are taking seven to 10 days to be tracked online.