Changes to US passport rule urged

By Nelson Alcantara l Special to eTN
Days after the US Department of Homeland Security proposed to exempt US and Canadian children as part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) requirements for US land and sea border entry in 2008, Kentucky-based National Tour Association (NTA) has come out with its suggestion for revision to the US passport rule.

The Department of Homeland Security last week said it is proposing to exempt US and Canadian citizens, ages 15 and younger with parental consent, to cross the border at land and sea ports with a certified copy of their birth certificate as an alternative to a passport or other WHTI compliant identity card.

In response, NTA is saying senior citizens should also be exempted. In a statement issued yesterday, NTA claimed it has long supported legislation that would lower passport fees for students and seniors. According to NTA, it submitted a letter on the topic in July 2005 to the US Department of State Counselor Affairs and to the Department of Homeland Security.

The letter, which was written in partnership with the Student & Youth Travel Association and the United States Tour Operators Association, cited the difficulties the passport rule would add for the student and senior market. The group claimed the WHTI would cause a “significant expense to cross-border travel for these groups, for negligible security gain.” The letter further added that as a result, “student travel will be limited in its scope and educational impact, while fixed-income seniors will have to budget more money for a cruise or cross-border trip.”

Canadian officials on Sunday spoke in support of NTA's proposed less-restrictive passport rule for seniors. “I think it’s a natural for us to exempt seniors,” said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty in an article published Monday. “I think some of the very same reasons that would have motivated the exemption of children could apply to seniors.”

The initial phase of the WHTI went into effect last month, requiring all air travelers, regardless of age, to present a passport for entry to the United States. As early as January 1, 2008, US citizens traveling between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea will be required to present a valid passport or other WHTI compliant documents, as determined by the US Department of Homeland Security.

February 28, 2007   Posted in: United States