THE UNITED States has announced that, effective January 1, 2006, its citizens travelling from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Central and South America will need a passport to re-enter the U.S. In 2007 the law will extend to air and sea travel to and from Mexico and Canada, and conclude January 1, 2008 to include land border crossings. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requires all U.S. citizens, Canadians, Bermudans and Mexicans to have a passport or other accepted secure document to enter or re-enter the United States within the Western Hemisphere. "Our goal is to strengthen border security and expedite entry into the United States for U.S. citizens and legitimate foreign visitors," said Randy Beardsworth, Homeland Security Acting Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security. "By ensuring that travellers possess secure documents, such as the passport, Homeland Security will be able to conduct more effective and efficient interviews at our borders." CHANGES MADE FOLLOWING 9/11 U.S. citizens, and citizens of some Western Hemisphere countries, prior to the change were not required to present a passport to enter or re-enter the U.S. when travelling within the Western Hemisphere. However, the change was made following last December's 9/11 Intelligence Bill, which demands foreign nationals present a passport or other secure document to enter the country. "All countries in the Western Hemisphere are effected by the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. As of January 1, 2006, the United States will require U.S. citizens to have a passport in order to exit and re-enter the U.S.," said Glenn Guimond, public affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica. U.S. citizens will no longer be able to use birth certificates or driver's licences as sole travel documents. The U.S. is, however, exploring what additional documents will be accepted for travel. The U.S. says it expects to endorse documentation that establishes the citizenship and identity of the bearer, enables electronic data verification and checking, and includes significant security features. It is the U.S. government's stated goal that biometrics be compulsory for travel documentation as an ultimate verification. The U.S. claims that the advance notice of the new regulation will allow affected travellers to voice their concerns, suggest alternative documents and acquire the necessary documents (a passport) before the deadline. Reprinted from jamaica-gleaner.com