Passport?

[Ducky77Jen]

Do you have to have a passport to travel to Mexico?
I don't remember using one a few years ago, I think we got away with drivers licenses and birth certificates, but because of all the recent events, I thought I heard passports are mandatory?
Does any one know if this is true or not?

 

[Jim]

Jennifer - the last I read from the State Dept. was that a birth certificate was still sufficient for travel to Mexico.  NOT a photocopy but the certified, raised seal certificate.  Passports will be required in a couple years though.  (2008?)  Personally I just find the passport so much easier for all parties concerned.  Never a question
Jim

[geminilee]

Ducky77,
You do not need a passport to travel to Mexico until 12/31/06.  They are doing the passport laws in phases and by 1/1/08 we will need passports for all travel except for travel in the US or it's territories i.e. US Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico.  Here is a link to the U.S. Department of State site and it will give the information you need.
If you do a lot of traveling I would get the passport as it is easier to go through the lines at the airport but if your not going ot do a lot be sure your birth certificate has a raised seal and bring a photo I.D.  Years ago I had used my original birth certificate not knowing about the raised seal...it did not have one and they were not letting me on that plane! GOT MY PASSPORT AFTER THAT!  Hope this helps.

[CoralReef]

The deadline was pushed back, so you can still use a state-issued picture ID and U.S. birth certificate until Dec. 31, 2006. Official info is at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2225.html . Names on the ID and the BC must match, or else you must have certified documentation of the name change.

The birth certificate must be a certified copy. This does not necessarily mean it will have a raised seal. Many states use a raised seal for certified copies, but some have used watermarks or other means of authentication at various times. I wish that travel agents would stop using the "raised seal" terminology, because it sometimes causes worries for people whose BCs are certified by watermark or other method.

[Ducky77Jen]

Thanks everyone for all your help!

=)

[MikeOKC]

Passports make the pasage thru Immigration so much easier.  The lines tend to be shorter and the information exchange is almost instantaneous.

MikeOKC

[geminilee]

I wish that travel agents would stop using the "raised seal" terminology, because it sometimes causes worries for people whose BCs are certified by watermark or other method.

I had my original birth certificate with a watermark and they let me board in Hartford/CT but on our layover in North Carolina Raleigh/Durham International they would not let me on the plane because it was not a raised seal. So I would have a back up.  Fortunately there was a nice woman in security who helped us. She tracked  down a local notary public that worked in the parking garage at the airport. Had a caddy take us there and had me fill out a form that I was who I claimed to be, signed a paper and gave it a seal.  We barely made that flight when we got back they were ready for take-off. Whew!

[blacker]

 

I guess the simple lesson learned here is that a passport, while not always needed, does simplify things, - especially post-911 !

I was going to leave this topic alone, but now you got me on a sore spot.

I am amazed at how the Americans (I know, this is a generalization, but bear me out) feel it is their God-given right to pass through other countries with nothing but a driver's licence and maybe a birth certificate that may or may not have their current name on it !

On my last trip to Mexico, I met a guy from New York that was bragging that he got his family into Mexico by bribing the customs agent because he forgot to bring his daughter's ID !!

To go even further with this rant, we Canadians require a valid passport for any entry into the U.S. via air, even if it's only a stop-over.  This is one reason that our flights to the Carribbean are direct from Canada, as the delays in checking everyone on board takes too long.  There is a move on right now to require passports for Canadians even for quick cross-border shopping trips.  Of course when some of our journalists mused that this may be a good idea to require US visitors to Canada  to also have proper passports, your then ambassador to Canada, Mr Paul Celluci, condemned this as an unreasonable reaction.

You would think that with all the hull-a-ballo that some of your politicians are making about how easy it is for suspected terrorists to enter the States, that all your citizens would be the first in line to get passports for any and all foreign travel. After all, what's good for the goose should also be good for the gander !   

There I'm done now, and I promise to be good now (I hope!)

[Jim]

Blacker - it does seem like a double standard doesn't it.  Come to think of it, it is a double standard.  I think there are probably as many, or close to as many, undocumented aliens (being politically correct here) coming in across the Canadian border as from the Mexican border.  Just drive or walk over. 
Yeah, passports aren't expensive, they don't take up much room in your bag or pocket, and after a few years you can remember what you once looked like.
I'll behave myself and not say anything about Celluci.  Didn't even know he was an ambassador.
Jim

[CoralReef]

geminilee, what an awful experience! Sounds like you were very lucky to be able to continue traveling.

Was your BC a certified copy issued by the state, or was it a hospital-issued certificate? My husband has traveled many times with a state-issued certified copy with no raised seal, and has never had a problem. I'm surprised to hear that the airline employees didn't know that not all certified copies have raised seals.

[blacker]

Thanks Jim for not dissing me for my rant, but I feel it's up to all of us to secure our borders, and travelling with proper papers is definitely the first step.

[geminilee]

Coral reef, it was my state certified original BC and it had a watermark seal in the center....thought i was good to go.  I was in CT but not NC. It was a very stressful way to start vacation but I am so glad that someone helped us. The first security guard told us to go to a bank that was nearby the airport to find a notary public!! Uhhhh.....hello, we don't even live in this state we flew in from CT how am I going to get to a bank when I don't even know where to go and in 40 mins! Yikes....I love my passport!

[CoralReef]

Wow, that's scary! Yep, a passport settles all these issues. Plus, if it's lost, you can replace it quickly from almost anywhere in the world, especially if you have the number recorded.

I think that if there's another big terrorist incident, it's not unlikely that the rules could suddenly be changed to require passports, almost overnight.

[Lorrie]

On my last trip to Mexico, I met a guy from New York that was bragging that he got his family into Mexico by bribing the customs agent because he forgot to bring his daughter's ID !!

This statment got me thinking.  I have two nieces (12 and 6) coming on our trip this Dec.  They both have certified, state issued BC (no raised seals), but neither have a picture ID.  Is this required for young children? If so, where do you get picture ID's for children?   

[Jim]

Lorrie - how about school ID?  Many schools issue picture ID's now.  Also, if your nieces are traveling with you, you might need some written permission from their parents (probably  notorized ?sp) for them to travel with you.  Stating time, destination, length of travel, etc.    I know it seems like a bit much, but I've heard of others having trouble traveling with their own kids who had a different last name due to divorce, remarriage, and so forth.  Check it out with your TA or the airline you're traveling on.  Better to find out now then when it's too late.
Jim