Engulf and Devour
 

I thought the regs say you must have a "Government Issued photo ID"? And Sams Club qualifies?

This confirms what many have suspected: The US government is now only a subsidiary of the Global Monopoly that intends to take over the Earth both financially and politically: Walmart.

Two years ago, someone I was traveling with used a MTV Networks ID card, and it worked fine at both LGA and MCO.

Affadavit of Citizenship
 

I got married in Pebble Beach, CA in November of 2003. It was a destination wedding, so we had to apply for our marriage license once we got there. I did not have a passport at the time, only a driver's license and birth certificate. We were going to Mexico two days after the wedding, and I was planning on using the birth certificate to get in.

So, we got the license, got married, and I packed all of the cool weather clothing, the marriage license and my birth certificate (accidentally) and sent it home with my family. I wanted to travel light to Mexico.

Of course, we discovered this at 5 am at the Monterey, CA airport when we tried to check in. I tried everything, crying, offering cash, etc. The first person said no go. After the plane took off, once of the AA gate agents started calling around, and discovered I could get an affadavit of US Citizenship to get in and out of the country.

We drove to San Jose, CA and met a notary in the airport who asked me if I was who I claimed to be, and gave me the Affadavit of US Citizenship. I got into Mexico via SJC and DFW with no problem. My mom faxed my birth certificate and driver's license to the hotel, and I carried it with me on the way back. (Side note, Fed Ex, UPS and every other carrier we tried could not get to Cabo San Lucas within a week for any price.)

In Dallas, the custom's agent said he would not let me back in on the affadavit, but he was willing to use the photocopy of my driver's license. As we've seen many other times on FT, if you don't get the answer you want the first time, keep trying or ask someone else!

I now have a passport and two driver's licenses, so hopefully this won't happen again!

What I don't understand is why they won't let you use an EXPIRED passport or driver's license as proof of identity. Just because the document has expired doesn't mean you have.

My wife once showed up for a flight with me without her wallet -- no ID. She had to go be to the check-in desk and get some kind of special notation on her boarding pass. TSA did a secondary on her, then let her through to fly. It added about 20 minutes to the process, but was otherwise painless.

The first and most important reason is that the people doing the checking are complete idiots. I love flustering them with my INSPASS, which has no easily seen expiration date (it's embedded in some code on the back, but I claim not to know that). The ID checkers just don't know what to do. At EWR, one left her post and went walking around the airport with me looking for somebody to make the decision for her! Finally, a United supervisor told her, "Of course it's OK," and that was that.

Playing devil's advocate for a moment, you do have to wonder where they should draw the line on expired IDs. If people could present their first photo driver's license, from 30 years ago or whatever, I'm not sure they would be recognizable. But the most recent driver's license shouldn't be a problem.

Bruce

Some people are not recognizable within days of their driver's license photo; for instance, if they had a beard and shaved it off (or 2 months later, if they grow one).

If that is the criterion, then people should simply be required to maintain a license/passport photo that clearly identifies them to the satisfaction of the checker.

The AZ drivers license I had at 16 didn't expire until turned 60 or 65. I can't imagine I'd look the same after almost 50 years, but that'd be my most recent ID. I don't think I'd really want to spend s afew hours at the DMV just to satisfy some arbitrary smoke and mirror display of security.

Or what about the non-driver's ID's here in Nevada? My wife has one from the early 90's--no expiration date. Some banks won't take it as ID--and then get very flustered when she comes back with a passport. "Can't you just bring a driver's license?!"

My latest bit of "screwing with the ID checker" is presenting my NEXUS (land) card. It's jointly issues by the US CBP/ICE and Customs Canada, but looks for all the world like a Canadian ID. I generally only do this at an airport with US CBP resident, so that when the rent-a-weenie bounces it, I can have a saner head called over. In another thread, I've pointed out that one could (and people have) used everything from Library of Congress reader identification cards (it's government issued and photo) to a state concealed carry permit (this usually gets an interesting reaction, particularly in California).

I keep an expired driver's license in my pack. If I lose my wallet, maybe it would be accepted. Might they not even notice that it had expired?

I have 3 ID's with me during all travel outside of the US.

And i have them in 3 different locations in case something happens (and i have one different credit card with each ID).

I was once in Paris and i was robbed on my passport, money and CC's. After this i made a rule to always have one or two backup plans (thus i carry an american DL, a European DL and my passport in three different places). I also always have two stashes with $100 in each to ensure that i can get by or get going without having to rely on a CC. This strategy has worked out very well for me.

Quite seriously, just about the only skill the ID checkers exhibit is searching for the expiration date! If it has one (except for encoded ones, like INSPASS), they will find it. And if the ID is expired, they will reject it. Count on it. They have no ability to think at all. These are the most menial jobs in any airport, way below the people who clean the restrooms.

Bruce

Question On The Law
 

If there a official FEDERAL LAW that anybody knows of that says it must be a VALID Goverment Issued ID. I am sure this has been discussed before.

I had a huge argument in Spanish with una Cubana Vieja in Orlando two days, who would not accept my INSPASS issued by the INS and Department of Justice. The same as her green card I told her. She kept asking for a Drivers License. If it weren't for the big line behind me I would have kept arguing with her, I didn't want to look more like a A**hole than I already was.

The TSA Website does NOT say Valid for domestic either;

Proper Identification

If you have a paper ticket for a domestic flight, passengers age 18 and over must present one form of photo identification issued by a local state or federal government agency (e.g.: passport/drivers license/military ID), or two forms of non-photo identification, one of which must have been issued by a state or federal agency (e.g.: U.S. social security card). For an international flight, you will need to present a valid passport, visa, or any other required documentation. Passengers without proper ID may be denied boarding.

For e-tickets, you will need to show your photo identification and e-ticket receipt to receive your boarding pass.

There are four ways to obtain a boarding pass:

http://www.tsa.gov/public/interapp/e...orial_1044.xml

I have- a couple of years ago I couldn't find my driver's license when I showed up for a Southwest flight from MDW-MCI. They were very nice about it- the search wasn't any worse than any of the SSSS searches I've had. They marked my boarding pass "No ID" and I had no problem getting home.