CBP Proposes Passports for U.S. Citizens and Canadians for Air and Sea Entry

71 Fed. Reg. 46155 (August 11, 2006)

This August 11, 2006, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposes a requirement that beginning January 8, 2007, United States citizens and nonimmigrant aliens from Canada, Bermuda, and Mexico entering the United States at air ports-of-entry and most sea ports-of-entry, with certain limited exceptions, present a valid passport or other identity and citizenship document deemed sufficient by the Secretary of Homeland Security. These groups are currently exempt from the passport requirement when entering the United States from countries within the Western Hemisphere. The proposal would implement Section 7209 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA).

Public comments are due on or before September 25, 2006.

This NPRM does not propose changing the exemption for these groups entering the United States at land border ports-of-entry and certain types of arrivals by sea (ferries and pleasure vessels), which will be addressed in a separate, future rulemaking. AMDOC #: 200609004