Announcement

5 December 2006

DHS Announces Final Western Hemisphere Air Travel Rule

Washington, DC -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) hosted a conference call Wednesday, 22 November 2006, in an effort to update the travel industry on requirements and timing for the Western Hemisphere Traveler Initiative (WHTI). Participants, which included approximately 30 government and travel industry individuals, where introduced to the final rule and first phase of the WHTI new documentation requirements for air travelers to and from the United States.

Air Travel: Effective 23 January 2007, all U.S. citizens and nonimmigrant aliens from Canada, Bermuda, and Mexico departing from or entering the United States from within the Western Hemisphere at air ports-of-entry will be required to present a valid passport, NEXUS Air card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document (MMD).

Land and Sea Travel: Requirements for all persons arriving through land and sea ports-of-entry (including ferries) are not finalized. DHS has announced a projected effective date of 1 January 2008 for land and sea entry at which time all travelers may be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined to be suitable by DHS. The final rule relating to land and sea travel will be addressed in a separate, future rulemaking.

The finalized rule, an implementation of the WHTI, forms part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 which requires DHS and DOS to develop and implement a plan to require all travelers, U.S. citizens and foreign nationals alike, to present a passport or other document, or a combination of documents, that establishes the bearer’s identity and citizenship when entering the United States.

This Initiative, cited as an effort in strengthening border security and facilitating entry into the United States for U.S. citizens and legitimate foreign visitors, is aimed at allowing customs and border services the opportunity to quickly, reliably, and accurately identify a traveler though standardized, secure, and reliable documentation methods. DHS commented that by limiting the types of documents presented a more efficient border will result, seeing as, at present, “there are more than 8,000 different state and local entities in the U.S., which issue birth certificates and driver’s licenses. Currently, a Customs and Border Protection Officer needs to assess the authenticity of each birth certificate and license, regardless of when or where it was issued. The challenge at the borders is how to assess individual travelers, based on the documents they present, without significantly slowing the processing time for admission into the United States.” (DHS Office of the Press Secretary, November 22, 2006)

Michael Chertoff, DHS Secretary of State, added, “The ability to misuse travel documents to enter this country opens the door for a terrorist to carry out an attack. We can not continue to allow loopholes that could facilitate access to the United States through false claims of citizenship or fake identities. This initiative strengthens our border security by designating verifiable secure documents that may be used at our air ports of entry.”

In Fiscal Year 2006, DHS issued a record 12.1 million passports to American citizens, up over 54 percent from 2005. DHS, which is anticipating issuing around 16 million passports in 2007, has dedicated additional resources and personnel to field resultant increased demands for passports.

For additional information on travel documentation please visit the Department of State at http://www.travel.state.gov/.