Passports & Visas
US Passports & Visas, Plus Other Travel Document Requirements
Air Travel
All U.S. citizens including children must present a passport or other approved travel document when entering the United States by air. U.S. citizens can present a passport, NEXUS card at airports with NEXUS kiosks, U.S. military ID with travel orders, or a U.S. Merchant Mariner Document when on official business.
Land and Sea Travel
The following summaries information available on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s website.
Beginning June 1, 2009
U.S. citizens entering the United States at sea or land ports of entry are required to have documents that comply with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), most commonly a U.S. passport, a passport card, a trusted traveler card such as NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST, or an enhanced driver’s license.
Note: The passport requirement does NOT apply to U.S. citizens travelling to or returning directly from a U.S. territory.
U.S. PASSPORT AND WHTI COMPLIANT DOCUMENTS:
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U.S. Passport: U.S. citizens may present a valid U.S. passport when travelling via air, land or sea between the U.S. and the aforementioned Western Hemisphere countries.
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The Passport Card: Passport card applications are currently accepted in anticipation of land border travel document requirements. Based on current projections, we expect the passport card to be in full production beginning in July 2008. We will provide additional updates as available. Once in production, the Passport Card it will only be valid for land and sea travel between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean region, and Bermuda.
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WHTI-Compliant Travel Documents for U.S. citizen travel via land or sea, as of January 31, 2008:
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Trusted Traveler Cards (NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST)
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State Issued Enhanced Driver’s License (when available)
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Enhanced Tribal Cards (when available)
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U.S. Military Identification with Military Travel Orders
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U.S. Merchant Mariner Document when travelling in conjunction with official maritime business
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Native American Tribal Photo Identification Card
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Form I-872 American Indian Card
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For further information see U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Document Requirements
Different situations require different documents. Please become familiar with the specific record requirements for the country(s) you are visiting. You can find more information on these documents here: