Travelers Required To Show Passports Beginning Jan. 23
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WASHINGTON — Nearly all air travelers entering America will be required to show passports beginning January 23, including returning Americans and people from Canada and other nations in the Western Hemisphere.
The date was disclosed yesterday by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in an interview with the AP. The Homeland Security Department plans to announce the change today.
Until now, the department had not set a specific date for instituting the passport requirement for air travelers, though the start had been expected to be around the beginning of the year. Setting the date on January 23 pushes the start past the holiday season.
The requirement marks a change for Americans, Canadians, Bermudians, and some Mexicans.
Currently, American citizens returning from other countries in the hemisphere are not required to present passports but must show other proof of citizenship such as driver’s licenses or birth certificates.
Visitors from most countries in the hemisphere are required to show passports. However, people from Canada, Bermuda have been allowed to use other forms of identification.