The Bakersfield Voice

By: Linda Heald

Additional passport rules for U.S. citizens are scheduled to take effect this summer and will require American travelers to carry passports on every international trip — even car trips to Mexico or Canada. Travel agents are encouraging clients to get or renew their passports now instead of waiting until spring when a late passport could interfere with travel plans.

Earlier in 2007, the first phase of new passport requirements caused months-long application backlogs at the U.S. State Department and created headaches for many international travelers.

Even travelers who aren’t sure whether or not they’ll be taking an international trip next summer should consider getting their passports now when they’re likely to finish the process relatively quickly — probably within four to six weeks.

Starting this spring, the U.S. State Department is once again likely to be processing unusually high numbers of passport applications because of the new requirements.
As of this year, all U.S. citizens traveling by air are now required to carry a U.S. passport to popular vacation spots that did not previously require them, including Canada, Mexico, Caribbean nations and countries in Central and South America. Beginning next summer (no official date has yet been announced), cruise and vehicle passengers to any country outside the U.S. will also be required to carry passports on their trips. These new passport requirements for 2008 are likely to take some travelers by surprise and could create another backlog of applications as seen last summer with people waiting three months or even more to get their passports.

Passport applications are available for downloading by visiting the State Department’s Web site: www.travel.state.gov or by stopping at any Auto Club office or U.S. Post Office. Citizens who wish to either renew or apply for a new passport must submit passport photos with their application, which can be taken at any Auto Club office for a fee of $8 for members and $15 for non-members plus tax.

First-time passports cost $82 for citizens less than 16 years of age, and $97 for those 16 years old and older. A passport renewal costs $67. For an additional fee, there are services to expedite passport applications and reduce the processing time to three weeks or less. Passport expediting services are available through the Auto Club, the State Department and other private passport services.

First-time applicants for a passport, or those with expired or lost passports, must submit their application in person to a passport processing location, such as a post office, during the hours that service is available.

U.S. passports are valid for 10 years. Non-expired passports can be renewed through the mail by sending a renewal application, your most recent passport and two identical passport photographs to the State Department.