have had their international vacation plans ruined by the gigantic backlog of U.S. passports awaiting processing. At the time of
this writing, the State Department—Washington’s official passport paper-pushing province—said that applicants could expect a
three-month wait from filing an application to receipt of their
passport books. For $60 more and overnight express charges,
“expedited” service is available. But one man’s expedited service
is another man’s lost vacation plans and a $60 whack in the wallet.
But hang on, most of this applies to air travel for folks planning to come back into the U.S. Since we’ll be driving our RVs
back in, there’s still a little room for taking a breath. Not so long
ago it looked as though passports would be required for land
crossings any time after the end of 2007. However, under a government proposal, that deadline has been pushed off until some-
time next summer. This news comes from Steve Royster, a
spokesman for the Consular Affairs Office at the Department of
State.
Royster told RV Life that RVers apparently won’t need a passport until next summer, and could actually opt for a less expensive—but completely acceptable—form of travel document. That
document, called a “passport card,” is presently under development. As proposed, the new passport card would be a wallet-sized card, good for travel back to the U.S. by folks who’ve visited Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. While the card
is acceptable for land and sea travel, it would NOT allow return
for those who would travel by air.
What’s the advantage? Cost for one thing. A traditional adult
passport book costs $97 (including the first time “execution
fee”). An adult passport card will run (including that execution
fee) $45. If you’re not planning air travel or for points other than
those mentioned, a passport card may be just the ticket.
These new passport cards have something else the passport
book doesn’t: Under the government’s proposal, passport cards
will include RFID technology. This radio frequency identification
allows government equipment to identify a specific ID code
imbedded in the card. State’s Royster puts a positive spin on the
technology, “You won’t even have to get out of your RV to have
the card read.”
Privacy Compromise?
Not everyone is thrilled with the proposal. Randy
Vanderhoof, the executive director of the Smart Card Alliance, a
nonprofit industry group that promotes the use of “smart” electronic technology, says there’s too little security for private citizens. “The vicinity read RFID technology proposed for the passport card does not support the necessary security safeguards to
allow border officials to verify that the passport card is authentic,
nor does it prevent the citizen’s unique reference number from
being tracked when it is outside of its protective sleeve,” says
Vanderhoof.
Fearing that the passport cards might somehow compromise
U.S. citizens, allowing them to be tracked in ways outside officialdom, the Smart Card Alliance has been lobbying the State
Department and Homeland Security to rethink their proposals.
Steve Royster indicates that the march toward the proposed technology continues, with plans to have it available by next summer’s deadline.
Park—Bring Papers
But there is yet a much closer deadline RVers need to watch
closely: As of December 31, 2007—just a few short months
down the road—those who make land crossings back into the
U.S. from Canada and Mexico will be required to produce proof
of citizenship. What makes the grade? In addition to a government photo ID (a driver’s license for example), border crossers
will need to show a birth certificate—showing birth in the U.S.,
or a certificate of naturalization. For U.S. citizens born abroad,
an official document showing their US citizenship at birth will
generally be acceptable. If you don’t bring the acceptable documentation, you’ll find getting back into the U.S. next year will
become nothing less than a very memorable experience. ■
Russ and Tiña De Maris are authors of RV Boondocking
Basics—A Guide to Living Without Hookups, which covers a full
range of dry camping topics. They also provide great resources in
their book, Camp Hosting USA—Your Guide to State Park
Volunteering. Visit www.icanrv.com for more information.
