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WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
and U.S. Department of State (State)
announced the proposed requirement, with
some exceptions, for citizens of the
United States, Canada, Mexico, and
British Overseas Territory of Bermuda to
present a passport to enter the United
States when arriving by air or sea from
any part of the Western Hemisphere
beginning January 8, 2007.
A second
proposed rule will be published at a
later date proposing certain
requirements for those travelers
entering the United States through a
land border crossing beginning January
1, 2008. The land border rule will also
address document requirements for ferry
passengers, U.S. citizen members of the
armed forces on active duty, and for
vessels used exclusively for pleasure
and not for the transportation of
persons or property for compensation or
hire.
Together, these two proposed rules set
forth the requirements of the Western
Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).
WHTI is the government’s plan to
implement a provision of the
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism
Prevention Act signed into law in 2004
which requires that by January 1, 2008
all citizens of the U.S., Canada,
Mexico, and Bermuda, have a passport or
other accepted document that establishes
the bearer’s identity and nationality to
enter or re‑enter the United States from
within the Western Hemisphere.
DHS and
the Department of State are providing
the public with an opportunity to
comment on the proposed rules and enable
them to meet the proposed requirements.
The proposed timeline and requirements
would be as follows:
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January 8, 2007 – Passports,
Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or
NEXUS Air cards would be required
for all air travel, and most
commercial sea travel, from within
the Western Hemisphere for citizens
of the United States, Canada ,
Mexico, and Bermuda. This is a
change from the previously scheduled
date of January 1, in order to
accommodate holiday travel.
-
January 1, 2008 – The statutory
deadline for all Western Hemisphere
travel, including land border
travel. Passports or other accepted
documents determined to sufficiently
denote identity and citizenship will
be required for anyone crossing at a
land border, as well as air and sea.
In
addition to the passport, two other
proposed travel documents that
sufficiently denote identity and
citizenship for the air and sea
environment include the Merchant Mariner
Document (MMD) and the NEXUS Air card.
The MMD or “z‑card” is issued by the
U.S. Coast Guard to merchant mariners
and the NEXUS Air card is issued to
citizens of Canada and the United
States, lawful permanent residents of
the United States and permanent
residents of Canada. The NEXUS Air card
may only be accepted when used in
conjunction with the NEXUS Air program.
The MMD card may only be accepted when
used on official maritime business.
To provide vital information to the
general public, the Departments of
Homeland Security and State are issuing
this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
This follows an Advanced Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) published in
the Federal Register on September 1,
2005. Public comments from the ANPRM are
discussed in this NPRM. The Department
of Homeland Security is issuing an
economic assessment of the proposed rule
for air and sea. The public may provide
input and/or comment on both the
proposed rule and the economic
assessment on or before September 24,
2006.
Those
wishing to comment on the proposed rule
may access the Federal e‑Rulemaking
Portal at
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/06-6854.htm
and follow the instructions for
submitting comments. Submissions must
include the agency name and docket
number CBP 2006-0097.
For more information, visit
www.dhs.gov or
www.travel.state.gov. |
