New passport rules now in effect to enter the US via land or sea

Finally! June 1st, 2009, marks the day when the final, much-delayed, phase of the new US passport requirements became effective. The short story is that US citizens traveling out of the country should now have a passport for re-admittance to the US from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean, where previously a passport wasn't required for land and sea border crossings.

The longer version of the rules is less simple, because in the time since 2004 when the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) was announced, lots of political wrangling and cruise industry lobbying added complexity to what initially was straightforward "passport now required" rule.

As a result, while a passport is still the recommended gold standard, US citizens re-entering the country via land or sea from one of the WHTI countries may also use a passport card, enhanced driver's license (if available from their state), or one of several other approved documents.

Plus there's one more loophole: if you're traveling on some but not all "closed-loop" cruises from the US, meaning a ship that sails from a US port and returns to the same US port, then US citizens can still get by with a certified birth certificate and driver's license for re-entry to the US.

Even so, bring a passport! What if, for example, you need to fly home in the middle of your cruise due to an emergency? Then you're re-entering the US by air and a passport would be required. Or what if you happen to miss the ship's sailing and need to fly to the first port of call to start your vacation? Again, you'll need a passport to make it happen. Just get a passport for crying out loud!