The United States says it has reviewed the period in which Americans re-entering the country from the Caribbean are not required to show passports. That hassle-free travel arrangement was due to end on December 31st 2005. But US State Department spokeswoman Angela Aggeler confirmed a change of tack on the issue. "The initial timeline we had proposed has been removed as a possibility", she told Caribbean Report, "but I can't give you a definitive answer until that has been finally approved and published". More time As part of new anti-terrorism measures the Department for Homeland Security had announced that it's to tighten restrictions on travel to the US. It meant that Americans returning home from holiday to a number of Caribbean countries, could not simply present their drivers licenses to US immigration. Caribbean tourism officials had lobbied hard for postponement, saying that ease of travel is one of the things that brings American visitors to the region in large numbers. Caribbean argrments against A report by the World Travel and Tourism Council had backed them up, saying that most Americans don't have passports, and few would bother to get them to travel to the Caribbean. That could cost the region two and half billion dollars in lost revenue. The State Department says the year-end 2005 date was just a proposal. "We wanted public and private reaction to that", explains Angela Aggeler. "We heard from individuals and organisations from other countries, and will be as responsive as we can to that in implementing the final timeline". Reprinted from bbccaribbean.com