Don’t have a passport? Depending on where you’re going and how you plan to get there, you may be OK. Between several new forms of alternative ID and one seldom-publicized loophole, many travelers will be able to cross the border for years to come without that little blue book.
Flashback to this time last year and new rules mandated by the government’s Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). Faced with regulations requiring a passport for anyone entering the U.S. by land or sea, millions of Americans sent in applications prior to their summer travels. The flood of paperwork completely swamped the Passport Office, pushing processing times from a few weeks to three months or more.
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