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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Caribbean travel may not require passports as soon

Dennis Tanner Newhouse News Service

Americans may get an extra year before needing a passport to return from the Caribbean, according to a senior State Department official.

If the delay occurs, U.S. citizens will not need passports coming home from Caribbean trips until Dec. 31, 2006, according to the official, who said the delay is “highly likely” and may be announced by month’s end.

As currently proposed, Caribbean travelers would need a passport starting by the end of this year. Travelers to Canada and Mexico would need passports by Dec. 31, 2006, if returning by ship or plane, and by Dec. 31, 2007, regardless of mode of transportation – including those traveling by car.

The delay to the Caribbean deadline would make it match the rules for travelers returning from Canada and Mexico by ship or plane.

“We’ve listened to a lot of input from travelers, travel agents, airlines, cruise lines that said that by requiring passports to return from one region we were favoring those areas where passports weren’t needed because people would vacation there instead,” said Frank Moss, deputy assistant secretary for consular affairs, whose department oversees State Department passport operations.

“By moving it back a year, the requirement goes from being one based on geographic region to one based on mode of transportation from anywhere.”

Travel agents and industry officials hope the new deadline is announced soon.

Carnival Cruises spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said the company still has been encouraging passengers to obtain passports.

“We have been offering this advice because we have received no guarantee that the timeline will be modified. Therefore, we felt it prudent to advise our guests to go ahead and get a passport,” she said.

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 established travel document requirements known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. The final proposal must be published by Dec. 31, opening a 60-day comment period that will lead to the final rules in 2006.

A 10-year passport costs $97 for adults and is renewable for $67. The cost is $82 for children under 16.

Since only about 65 million U.S. citizens – 25 percent of the population – hold passports, the State Department is preparing for what Moss called “major challenges in the next 21/2 years.”

About 10 million new and renewal passports will be processed this year, he said, estimating that the number will grow to 12 million in 2006 and 15 million in 2007 as that Dec. 31 deadline nears. The previous high was 7.3 million in 2000.

Meanwhile, State Department and Homeland Security officials are developing an identification card for frequent border crossers. It would be less expensive to obtain but still have the unquestioned veracity of a passport.

“We know that a passport is not the answer for someone who crosses from the U.S. into Canada or Mexico on a regular basis but who has no intention of ever going to Europe,” Moss said.