New Type of ID Card

[PapaBear]

Wallet Sized Passport Cards



WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department says it will begin accepting applications on Feb. 1 for passport cards as alternatives to passports for Americans who travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

The wallet-sized cards will be available to U.S. citizens by this spring.

They will cost $45 for adults and $35 for children, cheaper than a regular passport, and adults who have passports will have to pay only $20. They will be accepted for land and sea crossings between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, but not for flights.

The new passport cards are being offered as part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, or WHTI. The first phase of that went into effect last year, requiring U.S. travelers returning by plane from Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean to carry a passport. That led to a temporary surge in demand for passports, with wait times for passports increasing from four to six weeks to 12 weeks, although they have since returned to normal.

The Bush administration wants to begin requiring passports or passport cards for land and sea border crossings in mid-2008, but Congress is trying to force a delay on that requirement until summer 2009.

Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., said in a statement that the wallet-sized passport card will be a better option than a passport for many border residents.

"Also, by making the card available starting this year, I am hopeful that we will not see a repeat of the passport problems that plagued the State Department last year," he said.

Here is the official site about the card.

http://www.9wsyr.com/media/news/4/2/...port_Sheet.pdf

[OXCOPS]

So, can someone explain why they are not valid for air travel? I have seen several articles about this, but none have taken the time to explain why not.

[Jenna]

If one is going to go through the trouble of getting this, why not just get a regular passport without all the limitations?

[Probation13-901]

If one is going to go through the trouble of getting this, why not just get a regular passport without all the limitations?

I agree.

[PapaBear]

So, can someone explain why they are not valid for air travel? I have seen several articles about this, but none have taken the time to explain why not.

The card camnot be stamped with the VISA stamp! I am not quite certain why they cannot integrate the reader chip with the computer that shows a legal Visa in the country of visit. Perhaps, that will come with time.

[Lazy Fed]

Get a passport!!! That way all I have to do is swipe it!!! I hate typing names!!!

[adroitcuffs]

Get a passport!!! That way all I have to do is swipe it!!! I hate typing names!!!

Ergo, the name -- "Lazy Fed"

[JAYBIRD33081]

If one is going to go through the trouble of getting this, why not just get a regular passport without all the limitations?

+1

[MacLean]

So, can someone explain why they are not valid for air travel? I have seen several articles about this, but none have taken the time to explain why not.

No photo.

[armsmaster270]

Look left of center there is a place for a photo

[bird1]

http://piratenews.org/mexican-matric...ke-id-card.jpg
The Mexican one can be used instead of a passport also.
They'll be selling the American one on the streets soon enough.

[Ender]

If one is going to go through the trouble of getting this, why not just get a regular passport without all the limitations?

+1....good post.

[OXCOPS]

No photo.

There appears to be a space for one, but even if it's not, they say you still have to use another photo ID in conjunction with the new Passport card. Besides, my state DL is good enough to get me on a plane. Why wouldn't it be good enough to prove the passport card is mine, then allow me to fly to those locations?