The U.S. Department of State has announced that citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for but not yet received passports can temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007. The federal government is making this accommodation for air travel due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand. Congressman Mike Conaway (TX-11) made the following statement:
“I am pleased with the State Department’s decision to temporarily allow citizens to leave and enter the country with proper documents. While Congress has urged the strengthening of travel documents to prevent entry of terrorists across our borders, there must be adequate resources to fulfill the demand for passports before we can enforce the new requirements. Safety continues to be the number one priority for our country, and I will continue to work with the State Department to see that the increased demand for passports is dealt with efficiently.”
This accommodation does not affect entry requirements to other countries. Americans traveling to a country that requires passports must still present those documents.
