One thing that many people are now worried about is the documentation that they will need when traveling on a cruise or to places like Canada or Mexico. For years, we never needed a passport to Canada, but obvious happenings over the last decade have changed all of that. Today, anyone that is leaving the country needs some type of passport documentation.

Prior to June 1, 2009, passports were not required for land travel to U.S. border countries. Passports were often times not required for air travel, provided that the border country was the only destination. Before June of 2009, state issued documents such as driver’s licenses or government identification cards were sufficient to re-enter the United States.

The law changed in June 2009 and while it is a good thing, it has shaken up travelers who were unprepared for the new documents that are required. Today, any traveler that is moving in and out of the United States, even if only by land and heading to a border country such as Canada or Mexico, is required to have passport documentation. This is a delayed response to 9/11, but at least it has finally happened.

According to the government, these rules were put in place to tighten up our security and make the country a safer place. Previously, illegal immigrants would travel into Canada or Mexico and pass through the borders fairly easily. Driver’s licenses and birth certificates were fairly easy to forge and the new documentation makes it much more difficult to gain entry to the United States.

Although the Homeland Security advantages to this law are self evident, many citizens, specifically those living in border towns, are opposed to the law and cite it as a major inconvenience. Many people think that requiring a person to bring a passport to Canada is absurd. Likewise, many people believe that there are other ways to tighten border security without forcing everyone to carry a passport.

The government continues to stick to their guns in that this definitely improves the overall security of the country. While no system is perfect, it does at least add one more safe guard to be in place to attempt to prevent illegal entry into the country. However, they do recognize that getting and carrying a passport can be somewhat of an inconvenience and there are new measures in place to help with this.

One such innovation is the new passport card. The passport card is a wallet-sized card that displays a person’s relevant passport information without the large passport stamp book. A passport card is a valid passport to Canada, Mexico and certain Caribbean Islands for land and sea travel. Passport cards are available to current passport holders for $20.

It is perfectly understandable why the government is going through such lengths to protect the US borders. Illegal immigration and terrorism is always a hot topic for politicians to banter over during elections times. However, it is also nice to see a small concession that makes it possible for the casual traveler to have a convenient document to use when they would normally need a standard Pass Port Card to Canada or Mexico. Learn more about rush USA passports today!