Passport, por favor

Susie Cole of Bloomington is planning a Caribbean cruise with her husband early next year. It's a trip that in the past has not required a passport. But the cruise line is now telling Cole she needs a valid passport to sail. That's what brought her to the Hennepin County service center in Edina last week.

"I'm here to renew my passport,'' she tells the clerk."But I have not finished filing out my form."

"That's fine," says the clerk reassures her. "Go ahead and take your time. Will you be expediting your passport or taking regular delivery?

"Regular is fine," says Cole.

"Six, eight weeks. O.K.?" confirms the clerk.

More than 200,000 people travel from Minnesota to Mexico and the Caribbean during the winter. Government statistics indicate most don't bring passports.

The U.S. State Department estimates 70 million American citizens now hold passports. Historically, Americans traveling to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean and a few other destinations in the Americas haven't needed passports. Birth certificates and driver's licenses were good enough to prove their identities to foreign -- and American officials.

I think there'll be many, many people surprised. There's quite a few Minnesotans that go to Cancun and parts beyond Cancun. Minnesotans love Mexico.

But starting Jan. 8 that changes. Frank Moss, deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs, explains.

"A passport or one of a handful of other documents will be necessary to travel by air or sea to Mexico, the Caribbean or Canada," he says

Military IDs are also acceptable.

The push to get passports in the hands of international travelers is part of an effort to exercise tighter control over who gets into the United States. In 2008, as it now stands, the passport requirement will even extend to folks entering the U.S. by land from Mexico and Canada.

The Jan. 8 deadline for air and sea travel is less than four months away now. And it typically takes at least six-to-eight weeks to get a passport. Congress could push back the deadline. But don't count on it. That's the counsel of the state department's Moss.

"My advice to a traveler would be: Be safe rather than sorry," says Moss. "It's a great time to go ahead to apply for a passport. And not only does it take care of your travel this winter but it does so for years to come."

The new rules apply to children, too. They must have their own passports. For children under 16, passports cost $82. They're good for 5 years. For citizens 16 years of age and older, a passport costs $97 and is good for ten years.

Charlene LaFon and her husband, Mark, of St. Paul returned from Isla Mujures in Mexico last week. LaFon has a passport. But she notices many fellow travelers from Minnesota don't. Only about 40 percent use passports to re-enter the U.S. from Mexico.

"This trip I saw a lot of birth certificates and drivers' licenses. I think there'll be many, many people surprised, says LaFon. "There's quite a few Minnesotans that go to Cancun and parts beyond Cancun. Minnesotans love Mexico."

Indeed, from January to April last year, some 200,000 travelers flew out of the Twin Cities to Mexico. That's according to data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

George Wozniak, owner of Hobbit Travel, says people accustomed to scooping up last-minute travel bargains better keep the new passport requirements in mind.

"It's a big deal," he says. "Many, many people travel spur-of-the-moment on seven-day Caribbean cruises. They go to Cancun, Puerto Vallarta ... and by the way it includes Canada. So people who like to go up there fishing they're going to have a problem, too. You can imagine how busy the passport offices across the country will be as we approach this deadline.

At the Hennepin County service center in Edina, there's been about a 20 percent increase in passport applications. But senior manager Mark Oswald says the application process is usually fast--with the right documents.

"If you have an expired passport or driver's license and birth certificate, getting through the process is very quick,'' he says. "And here at the service center, we can provide the photos. It's a very simple process."

With her application complete, Susie Cole figures she'll have her passport in plenty of time.

"We are going on a cruise to the western Caribbean in January," says Cole. "And they will not accept anybody unless they have a passport. I think it takes about six weeks to two months to get your passport back. Your new one. So, I should be fine."

First-time applicants must apply for passports in person. That requirement also holds for folks with passports that expired more than 15 years ago. Many existing passport holders, however, can renew passports by mail.

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