Passport for Mexico Needed?

In article , "Pat"
wrote:
Hi!

4 of us are leaving for Cancun the end of January and are wondering if
passports are needed to leave or get back into the US. With the hightened
security, we were wondering if passports were necessary instead of the
drivers license/marriage license/birth certificate combo.

Thanks!
Pat


From http://travel.state.gov (which is always a good place to start)

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: The Government of Mexico requires that all U.S. citizens
present proof of citizenship and photo identification for entry into Mexico. A
U.S. passport is recommended, but other U.S. citizenship documents such as a
certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate, a Naturalization Certificate, a
Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Citizenship are
acceptable. U.S. citizens boarding flights to Mexico should be prepared to
present one of these documents as proof of U.S. citizenship, along with photo
identification. Driver's permits, voter registration cards, affidavits and
similar documents are not sufficient to prove citizenship for readmission into
the United States.

IF TRAVELLING WITH CHILDREN NOTE:
In an effort to prevent international child abduction, many governments have
initiated procedures at entry and exit points, including requiring documentary
evidence of relationship and permission of the parent(s) or legal guardian not
present for the child's travel. Parents of minor children (under 18 years old)
should document carefully legal custody prior to traveling to Mexico. If a
minor child is traveling with only one parent, the absent parent should
provide notarized consent. If only one parent has legal custody, that parent
should be prepared to provide such evidence to airlines and Mexican
authorities. In cases in which a minor child is traveling to Mexico alone or
in someone else's company, both parents (or the sole, documented custodial
parent) should provide notarized consent. If a child traveling to Mexico has a
different last name from the mother and/or father, the parents should be
prepared to provide evidence to airlines and Mexican authorities, such as a
birth certificate or adoption decree, to prove that they are indeed the
parents.

Travelers should be aware that Mexican entry regulations require Spanish
translations of all legal documents, including notarized consent decrees and
court agreements. Enforcement of this provision is not always consistent, and
English-language documents are almost always sufficient.

--
"People everywhere confuse what they read in the newspapers with news."
-A.J. Liebling

Hi!

4 of us are leaving for Cancun the end of January and are wondering if
passports are needed to leave or get back into the US. With the hightened
security, we were wondering if passports were necessary instead of the
drivers license/marriage license/birth certificate combo.

Thanks!
Pat

I wouldn't go anywhere without a passport these days. I have a friend
who is a Korean-American who traveled to the US Virgin Islands with her
6 year old daughter. (The father died last year.) She just brought the
IDs required but not passports, since she was technically still in the US.

When she returned to the mainland, she was stopped by immigration who
accused her of not being a US citizen since she didn't have her passport
on her, and they even tried to take her daughter. The whole thing was
just awful.

Here she wasn't required to have a passport because she went to the US
Virgin Islands, and yet she had to pass through immigration and was
harassed for not having one.

If I were you, I would bring passports. I honestly don't understand why
you would want to bring birth certificates and marriage certificates
when you could just bring your passports.

Kurt Ullman wrote:

In article , "Pat"
wrote:
Hi!

4 of us are leaving for Cancun the end of January and are wondering if
passports are needed to leave or get back into the US. With the hightened
security, we were wondering if passports were necessary instead of the
drivers license/marriage license/birth certificate combo.

Thanks!
Pat


From http://travel.state.gov (which is always a good place to start)

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: The Government of Mexico requires that all U.S. citizens
present proof of citizenship and photo identification for entry into Mexico. A
U.S. passport is recommended, but other U.S. citizenship documents such as a
certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate, a Naturalization Certificate, a
Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Citizenship are
acceptable. U.S. citizens boarding flights to Mexico should be prepared to
present one of these documents as proof of U.S. citizenship, along with photo
identification. Driver's permits, voter registration cards, affidavits and
similar documents are not sufficient to prove citizenship for readmission into
the United States.

IF TRAVELLING WITH CHILDREN NOTE:
In an effort to prevent international child abduction, many governments have
initiated procedures at entry and exit points, including requiring documentary
evidence of relationship and permission of the parent(s) or legal guardian not
present for the child's travel. Parents of minor children (under 18 years old)
should document carefully legal custody prior to traveling to Mexico. If a
minor child is traveling with only one parent, the absent parent should
provide notarized consent. If only one parent has legal custody, that parent
should be prepared to provide such evidence to airlines and Mexican
authorities. In cases in which a minor child is traveling to Mexico alone or
in someone else's company, both parents (or the sole, documented custodial
parent) should provide notarized consent. If a child traveling to Mexico has a
different last name from the mother and/or father, the parents should be
prepared to provide evidence to airlines and Mexican authorities, such as a
birth certificate or adoption decree, to prove that they are indeed the
parents.

Travelers should be aware that Mexican entry regulations require Spanish
translations of all legal documents, including notarized consent decrees and
court agreements. Enforcement of this provision is not always consistent, and
English-language documents are almost always sufficient.

--
"People everywhere confuse what they read in the newspapers with news."
-A.J. Liebling

In article , wrote:
I
If I were you, I would bring passports. I honestly don't understand why
you would want to bring birth certificates and marriage certificates
when you could just bring your passports.


The hassel factor sans passports was the reason we got ours abou t12 years
ago, even though it was mainly to travel to places like the Caribbean where
you really did not need one. It was just so much easier to keep track of one
thing as opposed to two or three. Also, the stamps from the various countries
make great souvenirs.

--
"People everywhere confuse what they read in the newspapers with news."
-A.J. Liebling

x-no-archive:yes



m wrote:

I wouldn't go anywhere without a passport these days. I have a friend
who is a Korean-American who traveled to the US Virgin Islands with her
6 year old daughter. (The father died last year.) She just brought the
IDs required but not passports, since she was technically still in the US.

When she returned to the mainland, she was stopped by immigration who
accused her of not being a US citizen since she didn't have her passport
on her, and they even tried to take her daughter. The whole thing was
just awful.

Here she wasn't required to have a passport because she went to the US
Virgin Islands, and yet she had to pass through immigration and was
harassed for not having one.


I can tell you that the USVI in particular is NOT like still being in
the US AFA immigration is concerned. The USVI is NOT a state, it is
a territory.

The airline should have stopped her from leaving the US (and she WAS
leaving the US) if she didn't have a birth certificate along with her
ID. They have insisted on it as long ago as 1996 - this is NOT NEW.
It was pretty naive of her not to just take the passports if she had
them or at least to take a birth certificate (and probably marriage
certificate too).

The reason is that it is VERY easy to come into the USVI from other
countries - they specifically say that on their website and did so
before 9-11.

This is what the official site
http://www.usvi.net/us-ins/html/travel_back....html
says:

Due to the location of the territory, the United States Virgin Islands has a pre-clearance inspection process for all flights from the territory to destinations in Puerto Rico or the Continental United States. This process requires all passengers to present proof of citizenship to immigration to the satisfaction of the inspecting officer.

Proof of citizenship is accomplished by presenting one of the following:

A passport issued under competent authority
An Alien Registration Card (green card).
(United States of America permanent residents only.)
A certified copy of a birth certificate with government issued photo identification. (Canadian and United States citizens only.)
Certificate of Naturalization, issued by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.

So she could have brought a birth certificate and photo ID or a
passport - either would be OK. Just a photo ID would not and never
has been enough.

If I were you, I would bring passports. I honestly don't understand why
you would want to bring birth certificates and marriage certificates
when you could just bring your passports.

Kurt Ullman wrote:

In article , "Pat"
wrote:
Hi!

4 of us are leaving for Cancun the end of January and are wondering if
passports are needed to leave or get back into the US. With the hightened
security, we were wondering if passports were necessary instead of the
drivers license/marriage license/birth certificate combo.

Thanks!
Pat


From http://travel.state.gov (which is always a good place to start)

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: The Government of Mexico requires that all U.S. citizens
present proof of citizenship and photo identification for entry into Mexico. A
U.S. passport is recommended, but other U.S. citizenship documents such as a
certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate, a Naturalization Certificate, a
Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a Certificate of Citizenship are
acceptable. U.S. citizens boarding flights to Mexico should be prepared to
present one of these documents as proof of U.S. citizenship, along with photo
identification. Driver's permits, voter registration cards, affidavits and
similar documents are not sufficient to prove citizenship for readmission into
the United States.

IF TRAVELLING WITH CHILDREN NOTE:
In an effort to prevent international child abduction, many governments have
initiated procedures at entry and exit points, including requiring documentary
evidence of relationship and permission of the parent(s) or legal guardian not
present for the child's travel. Parents of minor children (under 18 years old)
should document carefully legal custody prior to traveling to Mexico. If a
minor child is traveling with only one parent, the absent parent should
provide notarized consent. If only one parent has legal custody, that parent
should be prepared to provide such evidence to airlines and Mexican
authorities. In cases in which a minor child is traveling to Mexico alone or
in someone else's company, both parents (or the sole, documented custodial
parent) should provide notarized consent. If a child traveling to Mexico has a
different last name from the mother and/or father, the parents should be
prepared to provide evidence to airlines and Mexican authorities, such as a
birth certificate or adoption decree, to prove that they are indeed the
parents.

Travelers should be aware that Mexican entry regulations require Spanish
translations of all legal documents, including notarized consent decrees and
court agreements. Enforcement of this provision is not always consistent, and
English-language documents are almost always sufficient.

--
"People everywhere confuse what they read in the newspapers with news."
-A.J. Liebling

grandma Rosalie

"Rosalie B." wrote:

I can tell you that the USVI in particular is NOT like still being in
the US AFA immigration is concerned. The USVI is NOT a state, it is
a territory.

The airline should have stopped her from leaving the US (and she WAS
leaving the US) if she didn't have a birth certificate along with her
ID. They have insisted on it as long ago as 1996 - this is NOT NEW.
It was pretty naive of her not to just take the passports if she had
them or at least to take a birth certificate (and probably marriage
certificate too).

I know that she had everything that the airline told her she needed,
which was a driver's license and a birth certificate. They refused to
accept that as proof of citizenship. The whole experience was very
frightening for her.

My original point was that no matter what the requirements say, I think
it is best to just travel with a passport.

x-no-archive:yes


m wrote:



"Rosalie B." wrote:

I can tell you that the USVI in particular is NOT like still being in
the US AFA immigration is concerned. The USVI is NOT a state, it is
a territory.

The airline should have stopped her from leaving the US (and she WAS
leaving the US) if she didn't have a birth certificate along with her
ID. They have insisted on it as long ago as 1996 - this is NOT NEW.
It was pretty naive of her not to just take the passports if she had
them or at least to take a birth certificate (and probably marriage
certificate too).

I know that she had everything that the airline told her she needed,
which was a driver's license and a birth certificate. They refused to
accept that as proof of citizenship.

Well that's the part about presenting "proof of citizenship to
immigration to the satisfaction of the inspecting officer".

If she just had a birth certificate and a driver's license, she
probably did not have the same name on the birth certificate and the
license. So she would have needed a marriage license as well. Plus
she may not have had an official birth certificate, or the inspecting
officer might have perceived that it was not official.

The whole experience was very
frightening for her.

I'm sure it was, although I would have been more angry than
frightened.

My original point was that no matter what the requirements say, I think
it is best to just travel with a passport.

Yes - I can not understand people who don't want to get a passport.
Once you have it, you don't have to worry about keeping track of that
piece of paper. It does take time and there is a fee and I know people
say they can't afford to get passports for all their children, but
even traveling to Mexico IMHO if you are too poor to get passports,
then you probably don't have enough disposable income to go.

grandma Rosalie

Another nice thing about a passport is that it's a good form of ID that
doesn't have your address on it, like a driver's license does.


"Rosalie B." wrote in message
...
x-no-archive:yes


m wrote:



"Rosalie B." wrote:

I can tell you that the USVI in particular is NOT like still being in
the US AFA immigration is concerned. The USVI is NOT a state, it is
a territory.

The airline should have stopped her from leaving the US (and she WAS
leaving the US) if she didn't have a birth certificate along with her
ID. They have insisted on it as long ago as 1996 - this is NOT NEW.
It was pretty naive of her not to just take the passports if she had
them or at least to take a birth certificate (and probably marriage
certificate too).

I know that she had everything that the airline told her she needed,
which was a driver's license and a birth certificate. They refused to
accept that as proof of citizenship.

Well that's the part about presenting "proof of citizenship to
immigration to the satisfaction of the inspecting officer".

If she just had a birth certificate and a driver's license, she
probably did not have the same name on the birth certificate and the
license. So she would have needed a marriage license as well. Plus
she may not have had an official birth certificate, or the inspecting
officer might have perceived that it was not official.

The whole experience was very
frightening for her.

I'm sure it was, although I would have been more angry than
frightened.

My original point was that no matter what the requirements say, I think
it is best to just travel with a passport.

Yes - I can not understand people who don't want to get a passport.
Once you have it, you don't have to worry about keeping track of that
piece of paper. It does take time and there is a fee and I know people
say they can't afford to get passports for all their children, but
even traveling to Mexico IMHO if you are too poor to get passports,
then you probably don't have enough disposable income to go.

grandma Rosalie

For US Passport Information see:

http://travel.state.gov/passpport_services.html

For the life of me, I do NOT understand why any citizen of the USA
would travel outside the USA withoug a passport. (O.K., Maybe I can
understand travel in Canadian and Mexican boarder areas -- I'll conceed
that as an exception.)

I mean, you're spending thousands of dollars for travel and accomodations,
do you really need to save about $100 for a passport that is good for
ten years? (That is the rough cost, including photos. About twice that
much if you need expedited service; a bit less for renwal.)

Whatever you do, please keep this in mind: the requirements for re-entering
the USA may be greater that the requirements for entering another country
as a visitor. _Maybe_ other documents will work, but a passport is the
_BEST_ document to carry.
--
Charlie Hammond -- Hewlett-Packard Company -- Ft Lauderdale FL USA
-- remove "@not" when replying)
All opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily my employer's.

"Rosalie B." wrote:

x-no-archive:yes

m wrote:



"Rosalie B." wrote:

I can tell you that the USVI in particular is NOT like still being in
the US AFA immigration is concerned. The USVI is NOT a state, it is
a territory.

The airline should have stopped her from leaving the US (and she WAS
leaving the US) if she didn't have a birth certificate along with her
ID. They have insisted on it as long ago as 1996 - this is NOT NEW.
It was pretty naive of her not to just take the passports if she had
them or at least to take a birth certificate (and probably marriage
certificate too).

I know that she had everything that the airline told her she needed,
which was a driver's license and a birth certificate. They refused to
accept that as proof of citizenship.

Well that's the part about presenting "proof of citizenship to
immigration to the satisfaction of the inspecting officer".

If she just had a birth certificate and a driver's license, she
probably did not have the same name on the birth certificate and the
license.

She didn't change her name when she got married, so you are wrong here.

So she would have needed a marriage license as well. Plus
she may not have had an official birth certificate, or the inspecting
officer might have perceived that it was not official.

It was official. The behavior of the inspecting officer was outrageous.
Why are you defending such behavior?


The whole experience was very
frightening for her.

I'm sure it was, although I would have been more angry than
frightened.

At first she was angry, but when they tried to take her child she became
frightened.


My original point was that no matter what the requirements say, I think
it is best to just travel with a passport.

Yes - I can not understand people who don't want to get a passport.
Once you have it, you don't have to worry about keeping track of that
piece of paper. It does take time and there is a fee and I know people
say they can't afford to get passports for all their children, but
even traveling to Mexico IMHO if you are too poor to get passports,
then you probably don't have enough disposable income to go.


Here we are in total agreement!