Passports for US travel

WARNING: PASSPORT REQUIRED !
Even with the defeat of the Bush group in Washington, there is to be no respite for travellers. As of 01 June 2009, all people seeking entry to the United States of America by land, sea or air will need to present a full passport.
At the beginning of 2008, the US Department of Homeland Security and the US border agency began requiring all air passengers to present a passport in order to board a flight to the USA. At that time land and sea border crossings needed only a birth certificate and another item of government photo identification such as a driving license. But this was only temporary.
No border crossing into the USA will be possible without a regular passport. This becomes the rule as of next June: only seven months from now.
So go out and get your passport renewed, or get your first-ever passport. Visit the passport office on-line here. Passports applied for in person take two weeks, or four weeks if by mail. For 24 hour service you pay an extra $70 above the basic passport fee of $87; but you have to apply in person. Those wanting more pages should pay the extra $5 for a double-thick passport.
And remember, any visa you already have in your passport automatically expires with the passport, and cannot be transferred to the new passport. Your passport number will change, too. So if you applied for anything under the old passport, or used the old passport as ID for a cruise ticket, this will all have to be changed. Remember to update your airline on-line preferences, as these are automated to hasten border crossing procedures and linked to your old passport.