More on Passports
Members of the Oklahoma congressional delegation have been dealing with hundreds of constituents whose passport applications have been delayed by the backlog created by new requirements for traveling by air to Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Jim Luetkemeyer, press secretary for Rep. Frank Lucas, passed on this information, which may help some people, though caution is urged.
A member of Lucas’ staff attended a conference recently in San Diego, where the passport issue came up, and she learned that people whose passports have been delayed can board flights if they have documentation (such as a receipt for a passport fee) showing they tried to obtain a passport.
Luetkemeyer provided a link to a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol web page that seems to confirm that. It says in part:
“Although the requirement is now in effect for all international air travelers to have a passport for travel into and out of the U.S., we are aware that some travelers have not been able to obtain passports because of delayed processing times in both Canada and the U.S. CBP has informed airlines that travelers with sufficient documentation to provide evidence of a good faith effort to obtain a passport in a timely fashion, (i.e. a receipt from an issuing agency) can be brought to the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda, where we will determine their admissibility on a case by case basis.
“Only travelers who have made an effort to obtain passports in a timely fashion should contact airlines about being allowed to board under these guidelines. Travelers who have been negligent in obtaining required documents should not expect to be accomodated. Travelers to and from other destinations previously requiring a passport for travel are not eligible for this accomodation.”
To see the advisory, you can go to www.cbp.gov, then click on the Travel bar at the top, then go to the question about whether you need a passport to travel within the western hemisphere.
According to congressional staff members, there are a lot of frantic people in the state whose long-planned trips have been affected by the new policy and the problems with getting passports processed.
Chris Casteel
Washington Bureau
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