Practical Travel Safety Issues - Flight to Guam from SFO; Passport Required?

I was wondering if I was going to Guam via Honolulu from San Francisco if I need a passport or is a State ID enough?

The reason I ask this si because going to Puerto Rico one can go with their State ID and there is no Customs. When I spoke with United they said that a valid passport is required and that I can bring back up to $800 of goods into my own country.

There must be some exceptions here!! What is your experience?

My friend recently went through this. He had a death in the family and had to fly back to GUM from HNL, however his passport had just expired (I told him 6 months ago to renew it, but did he listen?). The good thing is I went HNL-GUM-HNL a few weeks earlier and just out of curiosity asked if I needed a passport, and they said that all I needed was a government ID and a Birth Certificate, which is exactly what my friend used without a problem. As soon as he came back to HNL he applied to get his passport renewed :)

Also, GUM does have its own Customs that is separate from US Customs. So HNL-GUM you have to clear Guam's Customs and GUM-HNL you have to clear US Customs. My experience with customs in both places is that you give them the form and they wave you through.

You do not need a passport to go to Guam. However, if you have IRROPs on your travels, your options become limited without a passport.

For example, if there is a delay from SFO-HNL and it is apparent that you would miss your HNL-GUM flight, you would not be able to be rebooked SFO-NRT-GUM without a US passport.

This has happened to me a few times over the last several years flying LAX-HNL-GUM, when LAX-HNL was delayed and I went LAX-NRT-GUM. One time this happened, an active duty military guy next to me with orders and a military ID, but no passport wasn't allowed to go through NRT and had to overnight in HNL to wait until the next day's flight from HNL-GUM.

http://www.worldtravelguide.net/guam/passport-visa

http://www.worldtravelguide.net/guam/passport-visa

Bad information on the site as you either don't need to go through "entry" (from HNL) or absolutely need a passport for foreign transit (all other points), and the OP is asking for the other direction.

There is a USCBP immigration checkpoint prior to boarding GUM-HNL, where everyone is verified for admissibility to the States. Some form of ID is needed although it doesn't HAVE to be a passport. At HNL, you proceed directly to USCBP customs/quarantine/agriculture.

To transit through any foreign point, including Japan, Korea or the freely associated states of Micronesia, a passport is absolutely needed.

Saipan (or the Northern Marianas) is a separate USCBP jurisdiction, with full USCBP immigration inspection. A passport is not absolutely necessary if a US citizen has not transited a foreign point.