Lots of folks in Arizona travel to Mexico. Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco) is within easy driving distance from Phoenix and Tucson and an absolutely lovely vacation destination. (Our last trip to Rocky Point.)
And as we’ve seen recently, lots of folks from Canada travel to Phoenix!
To get into Mexico, all you need is any official US ID. Passports are not required. (Source: Mexican Foreign Ministry)
But it is really kind of important to make sure that once you get into Mexico, you can get back into the United States!
The rules for entry into the US change this Thursday, Jan 31 2008. Note: this includes driving into/out of Mexico, not just plane flights!
In the past, an ID and oral declaration of US citizenship was all that was required.
Effective Jan 31, 2008 you have to provide proof of identity and proof of US citizenship to enter the US.
From the U.S. Customs and Border Protection web site:
Effective January 31, 2008, U.S. and Canadian citizens ages 19 and older should no longer expect that they will be able to prove identity and citizenship by relying on an oral declaration alone.
These regulations apply to both US and Canadian citizens for entry into the United States.
There are two options for documentation:
Single Document Option – one of the following meets the requirements to prove both identity and citizenship:
- U.S. or Canadian Passport
- U.S. Passport Card (Available spring 2008)
- Trusted Traveler Cards (NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST)
- State or Provincial Issued Enhanced Driver’s License (when available – this secure driver’s license will denote identity and citizenship.)
- Enhanced Tribal Cards (when available)
- U.S. Military Identification with Military Travel Orders
- U.S. Merchant Mariner Document
- Native American Tribal Photo Identification Card
- Form I-872 American Indian Card
- Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) Card
Two Document Option – If you don’t have one of the above documents, you must present BOTH an identification and citizenship document:
Identification Documents (must have a photo, name and date of birth)
- Driver’s license or identification card issued by a federal, state, provincial, county, territory, or municipal authority
- U.S. or Canadian military identification card
Citizenship Documents
- U.S. or Canadian birth certificate issued by a federal, state, provincial, county, territory or municipal authority
- U.S. Consular report of birth abroad
- U.S. Certificate of Naturalization
- U.S. Certificate of Citizenship
- U.S. Citizen Identification Card
- Canadian Citizenship Card
- Canadian certificate of citizenship without photo
Procedures for Children – U.S. and Canadian citizen children ages 18 and under will be expected to present a birth certificate issued by a federal, state, provincial, county or municipal authority.
Experts are saying these requirements will likely increase border crossing wait times (and trust me, they are already lengthy) — at least until people get used to the new requirements.
For a printable version of these requirements (and additional info if you are a citizen of a country other than the United States or Canada) please click here.
Technorati Tags: Mexico, Puerto Penasco, Rocky Point, border crossing requirements
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Phil Hoover 01.28.08 at 6:28 pm
I am greatly relieved to know that our esteemed fedrule guvmint formulated some easy-to-understand regulations that will proteck us
Condos in Midtown Atlanta 01.31.08 at 8:53 am
While this may increase wait times to get back into the US, at least it’s another step in an attempt to make our boarders safer!
Anonymous 05.19.08 at 11:52 am
it sucks balls
roxanna l. kemppainen 05.29.08 at 8:59 pm
My husband, my 5 month old, my 11 yr old daughter, and myself have plans to go to Mexico (we are from Michigan) in June 08. We all have passports since we live directly across from Canada and visit there often, among other places. My ex, my daughters father, signed for her passport because she could not get one without both biological parents signatures, knowing we travel a lot, especially to Mexico. I go by my new married name, different from my daughters. We share joint custody, week on week off, but now he is saying he won’t allow her to go to Mexico with us, saying it is not safe. What can we do??