Bermuda and the Caribbean were also affected. (Not sure of the precise definition of "Caribbean".)

It's also unclear whether ground travel to Canada is affected. I still don't know what the exact rules are. Last summer, I was strongly warned not to try to go to Canada without a passport - this by the people selling Victoria Clipper tickets who obviously have an interest in getting me to go. (They said some folks were getting through, some weren't.) Yet I went to Windsor last year with no problems whatsoever in either direction.

We listed the date, but since we paid the expedite fee it was a bit of a moot point - they got it back us to in under two weeks. We did not list destination - two weeks ago when we applied, we didn't believe it would make any difference.

The WHTI doesn't take effect for land/sea crossings until January 2008.
http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/crossing...htibasics.shtm

Under the emergency rules, what if the Western Hemisphere country you're visiting requires a passport TO GET IN?

Is there a list? I presume the Caribbean nations would be happy to have you sans documents, but perhaps you'd have more trouble (or at least a heck of a lot of confusion) in South America.

Then, for those nationals for which a country requires a passport, you're required to have a passport to get into those countries.

Are you looking for a list of countries in the Americas that generally require a passport from US citizens (but may or may not require a passport of other nationals entering a particular country in the Americas) entering into the countries on a scheduled commercial passenger flight?

Travel without passport does not equate with travel "sans documents". Often enough even those countries not requiring all foreign nationals to have passports to enter do still require, at least on paper (in the form of law or regulation), some other documents for purposes of entry.

Obtaining a birth certificate is as just as lengthy as the Passport. Just depends on which gets here sooner.

Frustrated travelers who paid an extra $60 to get their U.S. passports expedited � and still had to wait for them � can now get a refund from the government. Story at [USA Today]


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Two weeks tops for a birth certificate. Same day if you want to go to local office.

I sent my passport in to be renewed last Monday 6/4, I paid the $60 expedite fee and overnight mail for both directions. It didn't appear on the online status check until today (Wed 6/13), when it said it had been processed and would be delivered tomorrow 6/14. But it was in my mailbox when I got home today.

All told, eight calendar days door to door. Sancha is a very happy camper.
^

Looks like the passport agency is adhering to their 10-12 weeks delivery time. I applied for additional pages on 4/5/07. Today, the online status page says: "We have finished processing your passport, and it has been mailed to you." Hooray!

I have a trip coming up to Brazil at the end of August. My passport is full, and I originally was going to have pages added so that I would have room to add in the Brazilian Visa. It turns out that as there are stamps on the last four pages of my passport (the amendments/endorsements section), I'm not eligible for additional pages, and need to obtain a new passport.

I contacted PassportExpress (an expediter) and asked if they could guarantee return of my new passport within their 2-week expedited period, even if my flight was not within two weeks (because I need the passport back before my trip to Brazil so I can have a visa added at the Brazilian Consulate here in Houston). The rep told me that they would notify the State Dept. when attempting to expedite the passport of the reason I needed it back well before my actual flight date, but stopped short of telling me they could guarantee delivery within the 2-week period (even if I paid both their expedite fee and the U.S. Passport Office's expedite fees). They also told me that I would have to include a letter notifying the U.S. Passport Office why I needed to have my passport renewed prior to its expiry (due to the stamps on the last four pages prohibiting addition of new pages).

This all sounds like a transaction that could go seriously FUBAR very quickly. Can anyone here recommend a passport expediting service (other than Passport Express) that might be able to guarantee delivery of my passport within their expedite period, despite the fact that my flight will not actually be departing within that period?

I had extra pages added last year at the US Embassy in Paris. I just showed up, dropped it off, waited for maybe an hour, and I was on my way. Wish I could get a renewal the same way--I need to put mine through and I just dread being without it.

SIX weeks to get my bc from California. I'm dating myself but I have the original. The certified copies I requested are actually microfiche copies of the paper cardstock certificate in the safe. Mom (a nurse's aide at the time) says back in the 60s the hospital would fill out the paperwork, send it to the county, the county would do its thing and send the certificate to the parents. This is also why when I filled out the form and wanted the "long version" that's supposed to have extra information all I got was the copy of what I have--because there was no such thing as the long vs. short versions back then.

It is still a complete crap shoot. I applied for my children's passports at a US Post Office on 3/19/07 and it's still "processing" with no additional information available. There is no rhyme or reason why some people are taking forever to process, and some people are promptly processed. When I emailed to ask status, I got an email back for one of my children to please allow "10-14 weeks" which is up from the 10-12 weeks still listed on the website. The other child didn't get a response from the US Dept of State. Of course, no one wants to talk to you unless you are within 2 weeks of travel.

Also, the US isn't requiring passports for Mexico/Canada/Caribbean travel *back to the US*, but those places may require a birth certificate (not just a picture ID like drivers license) to get in. I've heard some stories where people still couldn't travel because they didn't have their BCs --- they weren't allowed to get on the plane. To apply for a passport, you had to send in the original birth certificate, so many people may still be in the same boat (though it may be faster to get a BC).

I sent in my passport renewal and expedite fee last friday. Yesterday (thursday) it appeared on-line as in process. I received it today (friday)! Exactly 1 week or 5 business days. This was certainly unexpected.

FYI_ For those of you that need birth certificates, i just used a service called www.vitalchek.com, applied for birth cert online with credit card number and Fed-x to my Visa card - $25 all together - and received my cert NEXT DAY from Ny to California. WOW!

Yesterday, I tracked down a number at the State Department and reached a pleasant and sympathetic young man who not only assured me that my passport application had not been lost but also explained that this is such a busy travel season (as evidenced by the fact that if I have to rebook, I'll have a hard time finding a reasonable flight next week) that the passport agencies have essentially stopped answering inquires and are rushing full steam ahead on getting documents out in order of travel date.

This explanation was given further support when an aide to my Congressman phoned this afternoon and said that he hadn't received replies to any of his inquiries in the past few days.

What gives me hope is that when I went to the airport to talk to a ticket agent for UA and find out what my options are in case the passport doesn't arrive, the ticket agent told me that this was the first time that anyone had asked her that question. She actually had to phone UA to find out if there was a specific policy in place, and the answer was that there isn't. Normal "missed flight" rules apply.