Tweet
DH just told me that Atlantis, in the Bahamas, is offering to rebate the cost of passports for those who do not have them already. Not sure of the details, but an interesting concept we may see more of in the future.
-
~Arlene
"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."
- St. Augustine -
Not only am I for traveling with a passport going in or out of this country but also for iris identification too. It is very fast and painless. It will make all of us much safer while we are home in the USA as they can keep track of terrorists coming in this way. No passport and you don't come in! All Nations should require this today for their protection too. JMHO.
PS. I read some more about "Iris/Retinal Identification" since I posted this earlier and I know that some people here are very much against it. A national identity card would help too besides a passport. That too is also a sore subject for many.Comment
-
No passport, no Canada...and by extension, no affordable meds?Originally posted by AmyL4408"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed and those who are cold and are not clothed."
-- Dwight D. EisenhowerComment
-
Well, the Canadian drug sellers have until January 1, 2008 to figure it out. Where there's a market, they'll find it
PatComment
-
Do you think that people going to Canada for meds to save $Beaucoups are going to say, "Oopps. No passport. I guess I gotta start paying full price for my prescriptions now"? Or, are they more likely to say, "Well, I guess I gotta get a passport if I want to keep saving money""?Originally posted by Carol C View Post
The cost savings are big enough that I bet most people are going to choose to get the passport rather than pay US prices.“Maybe you shouldn't dress like that.”
“This is a blouse and skirt. I don't know what you're talking about.”
“You shouldn't wear that body.”Comment
-
Anybody heard of the new "card" they are issuing. Still pretty expensive I thinkComment
-
Indeed... I just got this:Originally posted by arlene22
Need a Passport?
We'll Help You Pay for One!
Beginning January 23, 2007, the U.S. government has mandated that anyone traveling by air must have a passport to re-enter the United States -- including travelers returning from the Caribbean, Mexico or Bermuda (excluding Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands).
Book your vacation with CheapCaribbean.com and we'll help pay for your passport! Here's how:
* Download and fill out the rebate form included with your travel documents
* Mail in the completed rebate form along with your original receipts within 30 days of booking your trip
* You'll receive a rebate of up to $97 per adult and $82 per child for each new passport application
* Rebate is issued within 30 days after completion of travelComment
-
Sounds like a great marketing ploy to me. Sorry I didn't think of it.
G'day from a finally cool and rainy Melbourne....
PatComment
-
Update on The Big Day
New passport rules cause few glitches
By GIOVANNA DELL'ORTO, Associated Press Writer
A new rule requiring U.S. airline passengers to show a passport upon their return from Mexico, Canada or the Caribbean took effect Tuesday, with few reports of stranded travelers.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest, reported no problems by midday. "I think we're looking at 100 percent compliance," said Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman Susan Shattuck.
Most travelers who forgot about the new requirement were allowed to enter after receiving a warning and a passport application. But their names were entered into the agency's computer system, and they will be scrutinized if it happens again.
"Nobody's being turned away," said Roxanne Hercules, an agency spokesman in Northern California. "These are mostly U.S. citizens coming home from traveling. We just are trying to inform them of the new rules."
Only about a quarter of U.S. citizens hold valid passports, and most Americans were accustomed to traveling to neighboring countries with just a driver's license or birth certificate, which have long been sufficient to get through airport customs on the trip home.
At Miami International Airport, a 7-year-old boy and a 2-year-old boy traveling with family from the Caribbean did not have passports.
"He had a pacifier but no passport," Customs and Border Protection spokesman Zachary Mann said of the toddler. Both boys were let into the country after officers explained the new rules to their relatives.
At Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, some Canadians arriving from Toronto had no quibble with the new requirement. "It makes sense," Shawn Palmer said. "I guess it makes a little more secure for getting across."
Travel agents and airlines reported no major problems after warning travelers about the new rule for more than a year.
"So far, all is quiet on our front," said Kathy Gerhardt, spokeswoman for Carlson Wagonlit Travel.
The new regulations were adopted by Congress in 2004 to secure the borders against terrorists.
The only valid substitutes for a passport will be a NEXUS Air card, used by some American and Canadian frequent fliers; identification as a U.S. Coast Guard merchant mariner; and the green card carried by legal permanent residents. Active members of the U.S. military are exempt.
For now, the rules affect only air travelers. Land and sea travelers will not have to show passports until at least January 2008.
___
Associated Press writers Dave Carpenter and Mark Carlson in Chicago, Juliana Barbassa in San Francisco, and Jordan Robertson in San Jose, Calif., contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
State Department: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed and those who are cold and are not clothed."
-- Dwight D. EisenhowerComment
-
The only valid substitutes for a passport will be a NEXUS Air card, used by some American and Canadian frequent fliers; identification as a U.S. Coast Guard merchant mariner; and the green card carried by legal permanent residents. Active members of the U.S. military are exempt.
The Nexus card is for people traveling to and from Canada often. You must apply for it like a passport but it cost only $50 and is free for children under 18. For more info contact www.getnexus.com
The biggest problem with them is for them to be issued, you must apply by mail then get a "in person" interview at one of only a couple dozen nexus offices. ( For those of you in the northwest, There is an office in Seattle, Vancouver and at the Blaine border crossing. )
But the biggest benifit is 2 things
1. Free for kids under 18
2. Wait time at the border go from up to an hour to less than a minute.BillComment
-
Too true!
And "Hey ya'll" from a still hot and occasionally rainy Melbourne (Florida, USA).
Mike
Originally posted by camachinist View PostSounds like a great marketing ploy to me. Sorry I didn't think of it.
G'day from a finally cool and rainy Melbourne....
PatComment
-
I wrote to ask if the Sentri pass holders would be exempt (Sentri is like Nexus, but for the southern border--looks identical to the Nexus pass) since we had the interview, 10 pt. fingerprints on file, background check, and paid for it. The answer was "not yet--we hope to get both systems integrated eventually, but for now, all systems are separate.""You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity." Adrian RogersComment
Comment