 Helm's
Inn - Passport Information
If you are coming into Canada from
the U.S.
and wish to return please be aware that there are
NO CURRENT PASSPORT REQUIREMENTS
and none will be in effect up to the END of 2006.
U.S. Government Future Passport Requirements:
- Beginning December 31, 2006, the rules
will apply to all individuals travelling to the United
States by air and sea; and
- As of December 31, 2007, they will
apply to
all individuals entering the United States via its
land border crossings.
Also note that after implementation, the U.S.
Secretary of Homeland Security is expected to
accept cards issued under registered traveller
programs, such as NEXUS and FAST, as passport substitutes.
The proposed U.S. passport rules are part of the Western
Hemisphere Travel Initiative, announced in April 2005 in
order to implement Section 7209 of the Intelligence Reform
and Terrorism Prevention Act, which President George W. Bush
signed into law in December 2004. The statute provides that,
by January 1, 2008, U.S. citizens and nonimmigrant aliens
entering or re-entering the United States must present passports
or other documents, to be designated by the Secretary of
Homeland Security, that establish identity and citizenship.
(Current regulations permit U.S. citizens and nonimmigrant
aliens from Canada, Bermuda and Mexico to enter the United
States from certain Western Hemisphere countries without
presenting a passport.)
You can submit your Input regarding the new U.S. regulations.
The Passport Coalition, made up of over 25 tourism groups
on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border wants your views:
www.regulations.gov.
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