Friday, June 08, 2007

U.S. Passport Regulations

Because of a huge backlog of passport applications, the U.S. State Dept. is suspending the need to have a passport to travel in the Western Hemisphere (Caribbean, Canada, Mexico). BUT, this only applies to those who have applied for a passport. If you have NOT applied for a passport, you will still have a problem. But, for those who have applied for a passport, you can travel to the Dominican Republic with a driver's license and the receipt you got when you applied for your passport. This regulation is suspended until the end of September.

It seems that the U.S. Govt. didn't take into account how this new regulation would throw the whole passport situation into disarray. It can now take up to 12 weeks to get your passport.

For more information click here.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

thanks for the update Anthony. Glad to see you back to blogging more. I swear, everytime I read your blog, I feel like I'm back on vacation in the DR. I stopped by to visit you when I was there, but you were not in. Maybe next time.

Anonymous said...

Help! My own passport is somewhere in this mess! I sent for it to be renewed on April 21 and still nothing. So, I clicked on the link, filled in the info, and got an email saying that it is "being processed." They also wrote that if I don't get it soon, 2 weeks before my date of travel, I should call them and for $60 more they will get it to me Express Mail asap! Maybe they just want the extra money?
From Puerto Rico,
Rafael

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the club, Rafael. If it's any consolation, I'm having the same problems getting my Canadian passport renewed. I applied to Ottawa March 15 and they still haven't processed it. And all because the Americans are now requiring Canadians to have a passport to enter the US. Whatever happened to international friendship (at the government level)? I can assure you it's as strong as ever on the personal level.

George