Public service announcement: Travel betw. US and Canada
- Thread starter MMike
- Start date
Just got mine. Headed to Jamaica in 17 days! 
MMike said:
I, for one, think it's pretty crappy that border security is getting so anal between the U.S. and Canada. Stupid Bush administration, trying to keep the sheep afraid. Of course, I live close to the border, and there's decent riding right on the other side... And I already have my passport.
stupid.... meanwhile there are thousands of illegals crossing the mexican border everyday.
As someone who crosses the border fairly often I think this could be a good thing. Imagine if every person who pulled up to a booth had as thorough an ID as a passport. The wait times would go down at the largest crossings because there would be less question about someones status. My wife has a Canadian passport and a US greencard and I have both US and Canadian passports (dual citizenship). They rarely even ask us the normal questions anymore. Once they see the passports and greencard it's a waste of their time to give us a second look.Enginerd A2 said:
I'm not sure about Canada, but a passport is good in the US for 10 years. Initially it might be pain to get one (it really isn't), but you won't have to worry about it again for a long time. That being said, some people might see it as a pain to get the whole family passports just to go on vacation to Canada, so there might be a negative effect on travel by those too lazy to get passports.
The report I heard last night on the radio said they won't start enforcing this at drive through boarder crossings until 2008, so there is a while to go anyway.
You make a good point about speeding up border crossings, which are currently painfully slow in my neck of the woods. If this does result from the new laws, I will partially change my tune. I still won't approve of the isolationist attitudes currently prevailent in the U.S. I suppose everyone who like to travel should already have a passport anyway.Lex said:
I know this comes as a shock to a lot of you with a public school education, but Canada IS a foreign country you know...
Crap, thanks for the heads up MMike! My passport expired last year, but no one at the border ever bothers me about it - as long as I've got my Drivers License right there with it they just wave me through.
Anyone know if you can renew an expired passport online? Or do I ned to go downtown...?
Anyone know if you can renew an expired passport online? Or do I ned to go downtown...?
Passports aren't cheap either! The US Gov't will be making a pretty penny off this as well.
Cannot be renewed online, but you can mail it in yourself to renew it if it is expired as opposed to going through the whole process from the beginning again.Jr_Bullit said:
I just remember the nightmarish lines and wait times to get the bloody thing the first time. I'm happy to do the mailing and waiting for a new one, I just don't wanna stand in a line downtown one weekend day.McGRP01 said:
Well...applications are printing - but I don't know if I want to submit by mail - I cross the border almost every weekend, so I can't be without my expired one for too long...guess I'll go see the "man" while I'm downtown tonight...
I didn't have to send in my expired passport to get my new one.Jr_Bullit said:
Edit -- I guess they changed that rule or mailed it back.
Unless they changed something, expired passports are still a valid form of ID like a birth certificate. Though, they are not valid for travel.
That's still $97 more than it costs me to carry my drivers license and birth certificate.dan-o said:
