MexConnect.com Forums: General: General Forum: A change in US passport requirements is coming: Page 2

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Marlene

Apr 7, 2005, 5:57 PM

Post #26 of 45 (1273 views)

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Re: [Carron] A change in US passport requirements is coming

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In our area we read about or know of people who have settled right in (seems beach cities attract a variety of characters), then suddenly get deported or have to leave when an unsavory or questionable history catches up to them, preventing them from getting the passport necessary for the FM-3. Or worse yet, living here under a false identity with a fairly serious criminal history up north.

Additionally, I know this is beginning to sound like a broken record, but a man without a passport could be considered a man without a country if he runs into trouble while abroad and needs emergency assistance. Things happen here all the time during foreign tourist season which require consular assistance.

(This post was edited by Marlene on Apr 7, 2005, 5:58 PM)

manda405

Apr 8, 2005, 10:55 AM

Post #27 of 45 (1221 views)

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Re: [Texwheel] I last renewed my passort at the Consulate

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Thank you!! My thoughts exactly.
I was born and raised in Washington state, only 1500 miles from the Mexico border. I never even fathomed getting a passport.
Even now that I am married to a Mexican and I have crossed the border 6 times in the past 3 years (3 by car and 3 by plane) I still dont' have a passport. I carry my Birth Certificate, my State issued ID and my Marriage Certificate. When I went down the last time I entered by car and had my daughter (18 months at the time) and they didnt' even ask for her documents. When I came back up (again by car) they didn't even ask for MY documentation let alone my daughter's.
Maybe a passport is more convenient than carrying 3 pieces of ID but I don't think that it should be made a requirement.

What happens down in Mexico...Stays in Mexico.

Uncle Donnie

Apr 8, 2005, 10:56 AM

Post #28 of 45 (1221 views)

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Re: [Marlene] A change in US passport requirements is coming

Hi Carron,

First let's just agree to disagree about the Minutemen. Look at my article in this month's magazine for a peek at attitudes of various shades.

And as Marlene pointed out, and I know you've been on these forums long enough to know it, there are lots of odd folks down here who probably don't serve their home countries well as ambassadors.

One was just outed in the Chapala area recently, albeit after his death, and many do seek cover to avoid facing any number of U.S. and Canadian authorities.

Chuck is correct IMO. Reporting of the facts backs him up.

Shameless self-promotion:
http://www.headformexico.com

Texwheel

Apr 8, 2005, 11:24 AM

Post #29 of 45 (1212 views)

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Re: [manda405] I last renewed my passort at the Consulate

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Manda,

Let me say, however, it is really so simple to get a passport, why not?

Plus it makes any foreign ID situation so simple. Although traveler's checks are not easily used in Mexico...cambios will usually cash them...a passport is necessary to cash traveler's checks.

Your passport is Who You Are! No matter where you are at. And gets you back into your own country, no questions. It is becoming even more valuable, now. Get one. At once!
Tom Williams
Georgetown, Texas
Texwheel@aol.com

manda405

Apr 8, 2005, 11:36 AM

Post #30 of 45 (1206 views)

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Re: [Texwheel] I last renewed my passort at the Consulate

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I am going to get one, not only for myself but my kids as well. We are moving to Nogales, Chijuajua and I plan on working in the Tuscon area. It will make it easier for my morning commute.

I hesitate to get one for my son who will be 10 months old when we move. I don't want to get one for him untill he is older because the picture will basically be useless in a few months anyway. Does any one know if there is an alternative to a passport that doesn't involve carrying his Birth Certificate every where?

What happens down in Mexico...Stays in Mexico.

Carron

Apr 8, 2005, 5:18 PM

Post #31 of 45 (1178 views)

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Re: [Uncle Donnie] A change in US passport requirements is coming

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I guess since our primary reason for living in Mexico is the fact that it is more affordable than Houston with a lot less government "Big Brother-ism" (for example, before we moved we were cited by the City of Houston because we were remodeling an older home and had not repainted the outside within some kind of 30 day legal limit we were not aware of and in the overall scheme of things why should this matter to anyone except possibly the tax collectors) slants my thoughts about why other people move here. I just wouldn't think first that other ex-pats are criminals or dangerous fugitives down here hiding from US justice! Apparently some of them are. Call me naive in these matters!

Unless you count the two parking tickets my husband got last time we visited my son in Houston. The city came in during the wee hours of the morning and posted no parking signs throughout the neighborhood because it was within two blocks of the high school. No fore warning, but everyone who was parked on the street after 7:00 the next morning was ticketed. Our truck was also on the "wrong" side of the street. No, we haven't paid. First notice said they would put a boot on our wheel. Last notice said if we didn't pay, Houston police would be knocking on our door. Bet they would love a chance to visit our local Boy's Town.

And yes we have passports.

Ed and Fran

Apr 8, 2005, 6:04 PM

Post #32 of 45 (1161 views)

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Re: [Carron] A change in US passport requirements is coming

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I just wouldn't think first that other ex-pats are criminals or dangerous fugitives down here hiding from US justice! Apparently some of them are. Call me naive in these matters!

Okay, you're "naive in these matters". But I think Carron is an easier board name to go by.

Unless you count the two parking tickets my husband got last time we visited my son in Houston. The city came in during the wee hours of the morning and posted no parking signs throughout the neighborhood because it was within two blocks of the high school. No fore warning, but everyone who was parked on the street after 7:00 the next morning was ticketed. Our truck was also on the "wrong" side of the street. No, we haven't paid.

Wow, multiple traffic violators, and scoff-laws to boot! No telling who you're liable to find hiding out down here. :-)

Regards

E&F

jennifer rose

Apr 8, 2005, 7:27 PM

Post #33 of 45 (1147 views)

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Seedy Characters

While 99.99% of the expatriate community are probably pretty law-abiding characters, there are always going to be scofflaws and outlaws among them. And some of those may be ones you just never suspected. About fifteen years ago, a 60-something man moved to Morelia, ingratiating himself with the expatriate community as nothing more than a nice old man. After a few years, some things just didn't seem to add up about the chap. A few who entrusted him to housesit found nothing missing, or at least didn't think they did, but their keys seemed newer when they returned. Some noticed little things missing after a dinner or party the man had attended. Others had heard about the man shoplifting. A few got together to compare notes, and with a little checking, it turned out that the fellow had more than a few felony warrants from Los Angeles County pending against him. And sure enough, he found himself in the local carcel awaiting a flight home accompanied by LA's finest.

There was another fellow on the lam who managed to spend several years living very, very well under an alias in San Miguel de Allende before finding himself on a trip home, escorted by agents of the US government.

While nothing irritates me more than hearing others remark that expatriates are running away from something, because most certainly are not, but there are always some bad apples in every lot.

Georgia

Apr 8, 2005, 7:59 PM

Post #34 of 45 (1136 views)

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Re: [manda405] I last renewed my passort at the Consulate

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I assume it is still done the "old" way: infants are photographed for passport purposes with their mothers. Kind of a joint passport.

jennifer rose

Apr 8, 2005, 8:25 PM

Post #35 of 45 (1125 views)

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Re: [Georgia] I last renewed my passort at the Consulate

Since a minor child must be the only subject in the passport photo, the Mother & Child passports are a thing of the past. All passports issued to those under the age of sixteen years are valid for no more than five years.

alex .

Apr 11, 2005, 7:50 AM

Post #36 of 45 (1037 views)

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Re: [manda405] Nogales is in Sonora

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Are you SURE you're ready?
Alex

wendy devlin

Apr 11, 2005, 10:50 AM

Post #37 of 45 (1004 views)

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Re: [Georgia] I last renewed my passort at the Consulate

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Information about current requirements and procedures for obtaining U.S. passports and Canadian passports is available at the web-sites listed below.

Requirements change and differ from country to country so consult your country's specific website before applying.

For example, to bring our Mexican grandson back to Canada, in 2001, he was required to have his OWN passport as the law changed the month of his birth that a Canadian child could no longer travel on a parent's passport. And that particular passport was valid for only 1 year from the issue date.

Now in Canada, a passport for a child under 3 is good for 3 years but for those under and over 16, the passport is valid for 5 years.

One reason that I know some people here haven't in the past gotten passports is cost: $90 per family member, and the 5 year expiry date as compared to many other countries for which a passport is valid for 10 years.

And also for many people, going across the Canadian/US or US/Mexico border has been so easy for so long with just a driver's license, many people can't justify the cost or the bother or the inconvenience.

Personally I've always found that having a current passport for myself and especially for each of the children, tended to make border crossings easier. Hubby however has been crossing both the US and Mexican borders for the past 30 years with an expired British passport!

Although the times, they are a'changing...!

url]http://www.passportvisaexpress.com/
http://www.ppt.gc.ca/menu_e.asp

(This post was edited by wendy devlin on Apr 11, 2005, 10:52 AM)

jrice

Apr 13, 2005, 8:14 PM

Post #38 of 45 (927 views)

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Re: [Rolly] A change in US passport requirements is coming

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It's interesting. Does this mean that a person who is obviously a U.S. citizen, and who can present significant evidence of such, can be expelled from the United States by the U.S. government for failure to present a passport? I don't recall the word "passport" in the Constitution.

I'd bet that at some point there will be a challenge to this aspect.

Now the government has found ways to do all sorts of things: It's unconstitutional to keep you from travelling to Cuba, for example, but courts say it's legal to keep you from spending money there.

Ed and Fran

Apr 14, 2005, 4:05 AM

Post #39 of 45 (902 views)

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Re: [jrice] A change in US passport requirements is coming

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Does this mean that a person who is obviously a U.S. citizen, and who can present significant evidence of such, can be expelled from the United States by the U.S. government for failure to present a passport?

No, it simply means that a passport will be required to enter the United States from outside the country.

E&F

Miguel Palomares

Apr 14, 2005, 7:42 AM

Post #40 of 45 (878 views)

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Re: [jennifer rose] Seedy Characters

The "nice old man" was 60-something?! I take umbrage! Since when is 60-anything "old"? Why, it´s the very prime of life! Harrumph!
From Tzurumutaro, Michoacan, "The Village of the Darned."
_______________________________________

The nuts and bolts of moving to Mexico:
http://michaeldickson.blogspot.com/
The dark side of living in Mexico:
http://mexicopeeks.blogspot.com/
Scintillating life in a Mexican pueblo:
http://tzurumutaro.blogspot.com/
http://tzurumutaro2.blogspot.com/

Carron

Apr 14, 2005, 8:48 AM

Post #41 of 45 (861 views)

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Re: [Ed and Fran] A change in US passport requirements is coming

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So if you are an American citizen and you are out of the country without a passport, (but presumably with other forms of ID) can the US border security refuse your re-entry into the States?????

alex .

Apr 14, 2005, 9:13 AM

Post #42 of 45 (855 views)

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Re: [Carron] mission statement

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One of the what used to be called INS' Mission Statement is "To expedite reentry of US citizens to the United States of America." Your passport facilitates that activity.
Alex

bournemouth

Apr 14, 2005, 11:31 AM

Post #43 of 45 (829 views)

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Re: [alex .] mission statement

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We cross the border at Nogales frequently and on one of our recent returns, we offered our passports and the officer said "Honest to goodness travel documents, not drivers' licences or voters registration cards" and waved us on. In this day and age I can't imagine trying to cross the border without a passport.

Ed and Fran

Apr 14, 2005, 12:16 PM

Post #44 of 45 (825 views)

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Re: [Carron] A change in US passport requirements is coming

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So if you are an American citizen and you are out of the country without a passport, (but presumably with other forms of ID) can the US border security refuse your re-entry into the States?????

I'll assume your question is in regards to re-entry once the new regulation goes into effect? Also, are you asking about some other form of identification that proves you are a U.S. citizen, (like what for instance? Few people still resemble their birth certificate photos), or other form of identification that shows that (legally or otherwise) you have a residence in the U.S. (drivers license, etc)?

My guess is that they can, at a minimum, make your life difficult in proving your right to enter the country.

Unless people like wasting their time and effort making a point with government officials, I think they'd be well advised to start working on getting a passport.

jmho

E(&F)

Texwheel

Apr 16, 2005, 9:10 AM

Post #45 of 45 (740 views)

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Re: [Ed and Fran] A change in US passport requirements is coming

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I read in the Washington Post yesterday that Bush has asked the State Department to review the new passport policy, especially regarding re-entry to the US from Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.
Tom Williams
Georgetown, Texas
Texwheel@aol.com

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