New Travel Document Requirements - Passport Requirements
Please note: This initiative DOES NOT affect U.S. citizens traveling between the United States and its territories! Click here for more info.

***** U.S. Citizens do not need a passport to travel to St. Croix!!! *****
| The new passport requirement outlined below does NOT apply to U.S. citizens traveling to or returning directly from a U.S. territory. U.S. citizens returning directly from a U.S. territory are not considered to have left the United States and do not need to present a passport. U.S. territories include the following: Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. |
Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI)
The proposed implementation timeline has two phases:
- Beginning
January 23, 2007, ALL persons,
including U.S. citizens, traveling by
air between the United
States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South
America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda will be
required to present a valid passport, Air
NEXUS card, or U.S. Coast Guard Merchant
Mariner Document, or an Alien Registration
Card, Form I-551, if applicable.
- As early as January 1, 2008, ALL persons, including U.S. citizens, traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security. While recent legislative changes permit a later deadline, the Departments of State and Homeland Security are working to meet all requirements as soon as possible. Ample advance notice will be provided to enable the public to obtain passports or passport cards for land/sea entries.
Travel Documents for U.S. Citizens Under WHTI
Under the proposed implementation plan, the following documents will be acceptable to fulfill document requirements:
- U.S. Passport: U.S. citizens may present a valid U.S. passport when traveling via air between the United States and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda, and may also use a U.S. passport when traveling via sea and land borders (including ferry crossings).
- The Passport Card (also referred to as the PASS Card): This limited-use passport in card format is currently under development and will be available for use for travel only via land or sea (including ferries) between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. Similar in size to a credit card, it will fit easily into a wallet.
- DOS and DHS also anticipate that the following documents will continue to be acceptable for their current travel uses under WHTI: SENTRI, NEXUS, FAST, and the U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document. As proposed, members of the U.S. Armed Forces on active duty traveling on orders will continue to be exempt from the passport requirement.
Background
The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 requires the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State 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 denote identity and citizenship when entering the United States. Congress amended portions of the Act in 2006. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is the Administration’s proposed plan to implement this mandate.
The goal of the Initiative is to strengthen border security and facilitate entry into the United States for U.S. citizens and legitimate foreign visitors by providing standardized, secure and reliable documentation which will allow the Department of Homeland Security to quickly, reliably and accurately identify a traveler.
More Information from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Website
Documents You Will Need to Enter the United States
Visitors/Non-immigrants:
All persons including citizens of the United States traveling by air between the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda are required to present a passport, Merchant Mariner Document (presented by U.S. citizen merchant mariners traveling on official business) or NEXUS Card (NEXUS enrollment is limited to citizens of the United States and Canada, and lawful permanent residents of the United States and Canada). Children will be required to present their own passport.
U.S. Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), refugees, and asylees will continue to be able to use their Alien Registration Card (Form I-551), issued by DHS, or other evidence of permanent resident status or refugee or asylee status to apply for entry into the United States. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) will not affect travel between the United States and its territories. U.S. citizens traveling directly between the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, America Samoa, Swains Island and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands will continue to be able to use established forms of identification to board flights and for entry.
Starting January 31, 2008, verbal declarations of identity and citizenship alone will no longer be accepted. On this date, U.S. and Canadian citizens entering the U. S. at land and sea ports of entry from within the Western Hemisphere will need to present (1) government-issued proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, along with (2) government issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license. ( Important Change in International Land and Sea Travel Document Procedures )
While a passport or other comparable document is not currently required for entry by land or sea, U.S. and Canadian citizens are highly encouraged to carry proof of identity and citizenship. Travelers 19 years and older should also carry government-issued photo ID. Please visit "Ready, Set... Go!" for the latest information on travel requirements. ( Ready, Set... Go! )
Full WHTI implementation is
currently planned for the summer of 2009. Ample
advance notice will be provided to enable the
public to obtain acceptable documents for
land/sea entries to the United States.
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/ready_set_go/air_travel/documents_needed.xml
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service





