New passport rules to take effect Jan. 8

If you don't have a passport, it may be a good time to get one:


New passport rules to take effect Jan. 8
Mon Sep 18, 3:05 PM ET
The date when passports will be required for U.S. citizens flying or cruising to Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico has been extended by one week, to Jan. 8, 2007.

An earlier deadline for requiring passports for air and sea passage to those destinations on Jan. 1 was changed to accommodate holiday travelers, according to U.S. State Department spokeswoman Laura Tischler.

Until the new rules take effect, you can go to Canada, Mexico and most Caribbean countries and then re-enter the U.S. with just a driver's license and birth certificate.

Tischler added that Congress is considering extending the deadline even further.

Only about 25 percent of Americans have current, valid passports, and many travel agents are trying to educate their customers about the new rules.

A recent survey of 334 travel agents from Carlson Wagonlit Travel found that 88 percent say they are advising customers of the change in regulations. Nearly half the agents say they have helped customers obtain passports. Only 32 percent said that a majority of their customers already hold valid passports.

Americans will still be able to visit Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands without a passport after the new rules take effect.

On Jan. 1, 2008, passports will be required for all land-based border crossings to Canada and Mexico as well.

For details, visit http://www.travel.state.gov, or call the U.S. National Passport Information Center at 877-487-2778. For a list of facilities where passports are processed, type in your zip code at http://www.iafdb.travel.state.gov/.