VictorCharlieTen

Thanks for your response. I thought the general rule was to have government issued photo ID that shows name, birthdate and address? Which OHIP does.

I am not arguing the point (as I do not know for sure) but simply trying to understand the rules.

btw, my son has autism so having a drivers license (or anything beyond passport and OHIP) is not realistic.

Thanks again.

Ari

OHIP has a lot of security features and looks like a DL:

http://natteringnic.com/wp-content/u...d_security.gif

Does he have any secondary forms of ID without his photo, like a credit card or bank card for example? Other IDs with photos like a school or work ID? (I don't know your son's limitations, so it may seem like a silly quesion to you).

The OHIP plus a secondary ID will probably do the trick.

VictorCharlieTen

Ari, was hoping to hear what you have said. And yes, he does have secondary (non-government, non-photo) ID. I have also heard of people without ID getting through by submitting to secondary screening.

Thanks.

Yoshi212

It should do the trick. Also since the flight is within the USA you don't actually need ID, just a lot of time and willingness to allow them to search you and your belongings. As he is autistic this could be a bad situation depends on how he interprets the TSO search. If you're able to keep him calm during this it shouldn't be much of an issue. Show up a bit early and hope the OHIP card passes muster. If not be ready for the search.

Often1

No ID + non-USN can be extremely hard. All US State DL agencies now issue a non-driving ID. Does Ontario do the same. If so, that's the way to go. Will he eventually fly without what's needed? Probably. But, it can very long & arduous.

WR Cage

I would give the odds of an OHIP card being rejected at checkpoint.

IME using an Alberta "Operators Permit", I get asked about 50% of the time for my driver's license. I then have to explain that in Alberta an Operators Permit is the driver's license.

There are a lot of Canadian's going through TPA, so TSA there should be somewhat familiar with the OHIP and know that it is not an acceptable form of ID for their purposes.

I would arrive at the airport very early and expect a few bumps along the way.

WR Cage

The above practice ended about 5 years ago when TSA took over all photo id checks. Today there is an expemption to photo id for US citizens, but unfortunately this does not extend to foreign nationals. For the procedure of nonphoto id, the TSA checkpoint attempts to do a search of other US federal or state data, then once the data is confirmed, the traveller undergoes secondary search. In the OP instance, its unlikely that is son is listed on the appropriate US government databases.

VictorCharlieTen

On a slightly off-topic grumble, why do Canadian passports expire every five years whereas most other countries are good for ten? And could they not issue some temporary passport ID whilst the new one is being processed?

tcook052

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/canad...-passport.html

VictorCharlieTen

Wow. I had no idea. There was certainly no indication this was an option in the renewal form!

zkzkz

Officially the only acceptable non-US are:

• A foreign government-issued passport
• Canadian provincial driver's license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) card

From:

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...documents.shtm

In practice the only airport I've seen this be a problem is SFO.


I would just try to use the passport. If they give him a hard time he can show them something else and they can hardly complain it's not a passport after he offered the passport.

As it happens the passport is technically *not* expired. For the US it's valid 6 months *after* the expiry date. The main purpose of this is to get around the requirement that it be valid for 6 months at time of entry. But I don't see why it wouldn't apply in this case.

PhotoJim

It's not an option yet. I'm not sure about whether a 5-year renewal will be an option once the 10-year is available, but the possibility of a choice won't exist until early 2013.

UshuaiaHammerfest

I believe the OP said that the passport was not in their possession at the moment, and that his only option for a government issued ID was the OHIP card.

Unfortunately I don't think anyone here can accurately say whether the OHIP card will be accepted or refused. If you bring multiple backup ID as Ari suggested and plan for a long wait and an escalation or two, I suspect you'll eventually be waved through, but that's purely speculation.

It sounds like your only other option is for your son to have "forgotten" his ID, as this page discusses:

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...documents.shtm

Tough situation, TBH.

Himeno

I get mixed results when I give them my non US, non passport, Government issued ID. When they have a problem, it's never "not valid", they take issue at there not being an expiry date.

mre5765

The process for people without ID is that the TSA attempts to verify identity using personal data. As the man in question is not a U.S. Citizen and apparently not a lawful permanent resident, then this is going to be hard.

In addition since the man is not a U.S. Citizen there is strong possibility the TSA will refer him to the CBP.

Autistic man, no papers to show he is legally in the USA, and an interaction CBP and possibly an airport law enforcement officer. This cannot end well.

Rent a car.

I expect the renewal will always be for a term equal to that of the passport being renewed. The 5 year renewal is a god send for me, though I wish the process supported converting to a passport with more pages. Nope, passport Canada says if you have a 20 pager it is replaced with a 20 pager.