Travelers that have applied for but are
still awaiting passports for trips this summer will be permitted to
use government-issued photo IDs to exit and enter the U.S., under a
temporary policy announced Friday by the Dept. of Homeland Security
and the State Dept.
The policy,
effective through Sept. 30, only involves travelers flying out of
the U.S. to destinations in Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean and
Mexico and only takes into account what is required by the U.S. for
exit and re-entry. Local consulate and tourist board offices should
be able to provide updated information on what is required for
travel to a specific country.
It is designed to
temporarily provide flexibility to the Western Hemisphere Travel 
Initiative, a law that
since January requires all airline travelers to possess a valid
passport in order to enter and exit the U.S.
Since then,
government passport offices have been flooded with passport
applications, which in turn have extended processing times with
travelers waiting up to 10 weeks for passports that usually take
four weeks to process.
Under the
temporary policy, adults who have applied for passports will only
need a drivers license or similar government-issued photo ID, as
well as official proof from the State Dept. indicating the passport
application for the passport is pending to travel Canada, Mexico,
the Caribbean and Bermuda.
Similarly,
children 16 years old and younger traveling with their parents will
only need proof of passport application.
Travelers with
pending passport applications can obtain proof of application on
the Web at http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/status/status_2567.html.
The federal
government is making accommodations for air travel due to
longer-than-expected processing times for passport applications in
the face of record breaking demand, the DHS said in a
statement.
The travel
industry voiced support for the temporary measure.
Common sense
prevails, said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the Travel Industry
Association. This will allow travelers to make summer plans and
enter the U.S. while our passport officials have time to address
the backlog of passport applications in an effective way. Its an
important time-out that allows the machinery of government to catch
up with the new laws.
The State Dept.
estimates that it will issue as many 17 million passports this
year, or about 40% more than in 2006.
To contact reporter Michael Milligan, send e-mail to [email protected].