Published: Sunday, May 31, 2009
New rules tighten a once-friendlier border with Canada
New document requirements change things between U.S., Canada
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Michael O'Leary / The Herald
A driver shows her drivers license and birth certificate to a customs agent Jim Johnston before entering the United States from Canada. One of the new identification cards can speed the process at the crossing.
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Drivers waiting in line to enter the United States from Canada line up for the border inspection near Peace Arch park in Blaine.
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Michael O'Leary / The Herald
A driver entering the United States aims his Nexus card at the reader as he approaches the border check.
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Michael O'Leary / The Herald Customs agent Jim Johnston receives identification from two men at the boarder. A passport or enhanced drivers license are two of the preferred types of identification that will speed a travelers entry into the United States from Canada.
Occasional day-trippers and frequent travelers alike will face a historic change at one of the world's longest borders on Monday: As the summer travel season begins, new requirements to enter the United States from Canada by land or sea take affect.
The changes, originally scheduled for January 2008, mean travelers can't get into the United States with a typical driver's license or birth certificate anymore.
While that may sound minor, it represents a marked shift in policy along the famously friendly border, and has inspired new travel documents and some spirited discussion about the relationship between the U.S. and Canada.
Ch-ch-changes
Border officials stressed that they will work with travelers who fail to upgrade by the deadline.
"We're going to be practical; we're going to have a flexible approach," said Mike Milne, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Seattle. "No U.S. citizen is going to be denied entry."
Denied, no; delayed, perhaps.
To avoid a delay, travelers need to hold a passport, which costs $100, or one of the new lower-cost documents.
Besides a standard passport, the average Washington traveler has three choices of documentation: an enhanced driver's license, a Nexus card or a passport card.
Enhanced driver's licenses, possibly the most appealing option, are similar to regular driver's licenses. They can take about two weeks to receive and expire after five years.
The enhanced license, available in just three other border states, is the least expensive route for those holding a Washington driver's license. It costs $15 to upgrade from an existing license, and its renewal runs $40, compared to a $25 renewal fee for a standard license.
Only 13 Department of Licensing locations statewide issue the enhanced license, including Mount Vernon and Bothell. Everett does not.
The license won't work for travel overseas, however. For that, you still need a passport.
Frequent travelers also may spring for a Nexus card. The card, which costs $50 and lasts five years, allows travelers to use commuter lanes at the border. The application process requires more work, however, including an interview with border officials and fingerprinting.
As another option, travelers can apply for a passport card. The wallet-sized card can be used to cross the border, but again, it is not valid for travel overseas. It costs $45, expires after 10 years and takes four to six weeks to receive.
Other options are available to a minority of travelers. For instance, children younger than 16 can still use a birth certificate, and American Indian tribes are developing an alternative form of identification, although that has yet to be resolved.
The new requirements have been in the works for at least half a decade and are the direct result of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
After the attacks, the porous borders with Mexico and Canada came under scrutiny. Because travelers could cross by simply declaring their citizenship, it looked like easy access for terrorists.
The bipartisan 9/11 Commission Report recommended tightening security, so in 2004, Congress passed a law that triggered changes.
Most have already taken effect. For instance, people traveling by air from Canada have faced higher document standards since 2007. Verbal declarations of citizenship ended in 2008.
The new requirements beginning Monday, which also affect Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean, represent the final step in the changes.
A split reaction
While many Americans have viewed the shift in policy as a logical way to increase security after the terrorist strikes, not all Canadians are enthused.
The Globe and Mail, one of Canada's largest daily newspapers, made that clear with an editorial cartoon it ran in April.
The cartoon showed U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano standing in front of a map with Canada completely separated from the United States, as if continental drift had torn the nations apart. "Border policy" was written above it.
"Any questions?" she asks in the cartoon.
Part of the angst may result from the fact that Canada is not making changes to its own policy. Driver's licenses are still a valid way to get into the country, even if they won't help someone leave.
Don Alper, who studies border relations between the two countries at Western Washington University, said some Canadians are upset about the change. He called it symbolically important.
"It sends a message about something," he said. "That message can be you're not as welcome as you once were."
Some Canadians agreed with that idea.
"I think they've got their quills up for no reason," Doug Cameron, 64, of Vernon, B.C., said of the U.S. policy.
Cameron, shopping at the Seattle Premium Outlets in Tulalip, said he doesn't see the heightened document requirements as necessary. He thinks that, ultimately, they will affect U.S. travelers more than Canadians.
"I've always carried a passport, so it's never been an issue for me," he said. "I can never understand why Americans have a problem with it."
That view -- that Americans don't hold passports and so will stop traveling to Canada -- was voiced by other Canadians.
"The fear is that the Americans who used to come across the border will stop," said Dave Tjart, 50 of Vancouver, B.C.
Because the changes have yet to take effect, it's impossible to say what the end result will be. However, at least some locals will still travel with ease, including Kris Mann, an Arlington resident who already holds a passport.
"I don't think it's a bad idea," she said of the changes. "I think that they're just making sure they have their documentation to get back and forth. It makes sense."
Many Americans have already upgraded their documents. Washington has issued more than 58,000 enhanced driver's licenses since 2008, while more than 1 million passport cards have been issued nationwide in the past 11 months.
Knowledge about the new requirements seems to be running high, even among those who haven't upgraded. Take Marcha Wold, a Marysville resident who is considering applying for the enhanced driver's license to travel to British Columbia.
"I wouldn't be using it for anything else," she said.
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com
The changes, originally scheduled for January 2008, mean travelers can't get into the United States with a typical driver's license or birth certificate anymore.
While that may sound minor, it represents a marked shift in policy along the famously friendly border, and has inspired new travel documents and some spirited discussion about the relationship between the U.S. and Canada.
Ch-ch-changes
Border officials stressed that they will work with travelers who fail to upgrade by the deadline.
"We're going to be practical; we're going to have a flexible approach," said Mike Milne, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Seattle. "No U.S. citizen is going to be denied entry."
Denied, no; delayed, perhaps.
To avoid a delay, travelers need to hold a passport, which costs $100, or one of the new lower-cost documents.
Besides a standard passport, the average Washington traveler has three choices of documentation: an enhanced driver's license, a Nexus card or a passport card.
Enhanced driver's licenses, possibly the most appealing option, are similar to regular driver's licenses. They can take about two weeks to receive and expire after five years.
The enhanced license, available in just three other border states, is the least expensive route for those holding a Washington driver's license. It costs $15 to upgrade from an existing license, and its renewal runs $40, compared to a $25 renewal fee for a standard license.
Only 13 Department of Licensing locations statewide issue the enhanced license, including Mount Vernon and Bothell. Everett does not.
The license won't work for travel overseas, however. For that, you still need a passport.
Frequent travelers also may spring for a Nexus card. The card, which costs $50 and lasts five years, allows travelers to use commuter lanes at the border. The application process requires more work, however, including an interview with border officials and fingerprinting.
As another option, travelers can apply for a passport card. The wallet-sized card can be used to cross the border, but again, it is not valid for travel overseas. It costs $45, expires after 10 years and takes four to six weeks to receive.
Other options are available to a minority of travelers. For instance, children younger than 16 can still use a birth certificate, and American Indian tribes are developing an alternative form of identification, although that has yet to be resolved.
The new requirements have been in the works for at least half a decade and are the direct result of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
After the attacks, the porous borders with Mexico and Canada came under scrutiny. Because travelers could cross by simply declaring their citizenship, it looked like easy access for terrorists.
The bipartisan 9/11 Commission Report recommended tightening security, so in 2004, Congress passed a law that triggered changes.
Most have already taken effect. For instance, people traveling by air from Canada have faced higher document standards since 2007. Verbal declarations of citizenship ended in 2008.
The new requirements beginning Monday, which also affect Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean, represent the final step in the changes.
A split reaction
While many Americans have viewed the shift in policy as a logical way to increase security after the terrorist strikes, not all Canadians are enthused.
The Globe and Mail, one of Canada's largest daily newspapers, made that clear with an editorial cartoon it ran in April.
The cartoon showed U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano standing in front of a map with Canada completely separated from the United States, as if continental drift had torn the nations apart. "Border policy" was written above it.
"Any questions?" she asks in the cartoon.
Part of the angst may result from the fact that Canada is not making changes to its own policy. Driver's licenses are still a valid way to get into the country, even if they won't help someone leave.
Don Alper, who studies border relations between the two countries at Western Washington University, said some Canadians are upset about the change. He called it symbolically important.
"It sends a message about something," he said. "That message can be you're not as welcome as you once were."
Some Canadians agreed with that idea.
"I think they've got their quills up for no reason," Doug Cameron, 64, of Vernon, B.C., said of the U.S. policy.
Cameron, shopping at the Seattle Premium Outlets in Tulalip, said he doesn't see the heightened document requirements as necessary. He thinks that, ultimately, they will affect U.S. travelers more than Canadians.
"I've always carried a passport, so it's never been an issue for me," he said. "I can never understand why Americans have a problem with it."
That view -- that Americans don't hold passports and so will stop traveling to Canada -- was voiced by other Canadians.
"The fear is that the Americans who used to come across the border will stop," said Dave Tjart, 50 of Vancouver, B.C.
Because the changes have yet to take effect, it's impossible to say what the end result will be. However, at least some locals will still travel with ease, including Kris Mann, an Arlington resident who already holds a passport.
"I don't think it's a bad idea," she said of the changes. "I think that they're just making sure they have their documentation to get back and forth. It makes sense."
Many Americans have already upgraded their documents. Washington has issued more than 58,000 enhanced driver's licenses since 2008, while more than 1 million passport cards have been issued nationwide in the past 11 months.
Knowledge about the new requirements seems to be running high, even among those who haven't upgraded. Take Marcha Wold, a Marysville resident who is considering applying for the enhanced driver's license to travel to British Columbia.
"I wouldn't be using it for anything else," she said.
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com
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