Slashdot Mirror
U.S. to Require Passport To Re-Enter Country
The Hobo writes "The CBC is reporting that starting in 2007, most Canadians will require a passport to cross into the United States and by 2008 Americans who crossed freely into Canada will be unable to return to the United States without a passport. The tougher new rules still allow Canadians to cross without being fingerprinted, but every person from any other country will be required to submit to fingerprinting." From the article: "Currently, Canadians and Americans are able to enter the United States with little more identification than a driver's licence or a birth certificate, though a passport has sometimes made it simpler to satisfy immigration officers at the border."
What's the big deal? Canadians and Americans still don't need passports to get home, nor do they need to worry about fingerprinting.
If you're an American without a passport, just come back through California, Mexico, and Arizona. The desert's hot, you'll pick up lots of dust, and after a few days' hiking, you'll have picked up a nice Mexican tan. Se Habla Espanol! You're in!
If you're a Canadian without a passport, remember that you're indistinguishable from the American as long as you remember to pronounce it "owwwwt" (like you stubbed your toe), instead of "oot" (like if you're going oot and aboot), and if you can pretend that Budweiser is beer for a few days. Grab a six-pack of Bud for your American friend and follow him across the desert. Then take a US domestic flight (for which no passport is required) to New York State. Go to the Six Nations Reserve and offer to haul some smokes 'n' booze in across the St. Lawrence. If it's winter, you can even walk home, eh?
Or remotely sniff the RFID off some other poor schlub and just use his passport.
Seriously, what's the big deal? Don't have a passport, go to Mexico, eh? :)
That could never happen to me, as my voice is my passport. Please verify me.
There is no sig, there is only Zuul.
no more driving across the peace bridge to get plastered between the fragile ages of 19 and 21? I mean I could but I'd probly forget where I put my passport...
aww who cares by then I'll be 21 anyway
The Answer
Americans who crossed freely into Canada will be unable to return to the United States without a passport Damn, does that mean we're stuck with them then?
to figure out eh who is a canadian eh? im mean eh, it's aboot national secoority eh. so, if it makes the US safer, eh, then it should be okay eh.
My problem? I was perfectly gruntled, until some numbnuts came by and dissed me.
I bet they will still let people in without a passport. Only Americans would be naive enough to leave their country without one. Thus proof of citizenship!
With that gaping security hole closed up I can finally sleep at night knowing I'm safe from all the bad people in the world.
What doesn't kill you only delays the inevitable
Your Rights Offline
No, you'll have to go online to get a good fake passport.
Your Rights Offline is still YRO. Yay for spelling!
Be very very wary.... the War on Tourism will be a long hard road.... there may even be tourists living on your street. Your next door neighbor may be a tourist, report any suspicious activities. We will not stop until we have eliminated the scourge of touism from our land. They are all around you, checking out our national treasures.
What if Canada deports me? I'm screwed!
In Repressive Burma, it's not just your connection that dies. slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=314547&cid=20819199
But how can you show your passport . . . if you are unable to speak?
It's so busy with tourists during your summer month.
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
It's no big deal really, just sign in oneline.
Trust us.
by 2008 Americans who crossed freely into Canada will be unable to return to the United States without a passport
Has anyone asked Canada what they think about all the dickhead americans that didn't bring their passport with them being left in their country...american arrogance at it's best:
America: And if you don't bring your passport we won't let you back.
Canada: Hang aboot...don't we get a say in who get's to stay in our country and for how long?
America: Is that oil?
Canada: Oh shit
Well, if you'd stop driving 93 MPH this wouldn't happen as much.
That is all.
That's what police are supposed to do, and I for one am glad they do it. I'll gladly put up with 1-2 minutes of my time for the officer to discover my car isn't stolen, and I'm not carrying drugs/weapons if he catches the next guy who is. I don't see it as an invasion of any rights or privacy of mine either, if you're thinking that. It's public roads, and I'm glad they're policed properly. I only wish that it would stop there, and not continue onto other things that I fear it's headed for (manditory ID checks, passports state-to-state, etc).
-Jesse
Nothing says "unprofessional job" like wrinkles in your duct tape.
I never thought I'd see Free Republic cited on Slashdot. All I can say is... ping!
Isn't this more like "Your Rights Offline" than "Your Rights Online?"
Its more like "Your Rights Over a Line".
(\_/)
(O.o) This is Bunny. Add Bunny to your signature
(> <) to help him achieve world domination.
Huh? This is an example of interstate travel passport requirement!
Since when did producing a passport become the equivalent of a cavity search?
Depends on where you keep your passport. Zing!
Watch out boys and girls, the next time you pass out drunk on the dorm couch...
A few hours and a vomit covered tire-iron later, you might find yourself waking up on the wrong side of the line!
A friend swears his brother actually saw this happen:
Friend's brother flew from Hong Kong to Sydney. Flight was delayed on the ground in HK, somewhat significantly, so everyone was kind of late. The immigration person checking passports was, in the spirit of all good bureaucrats with functionally unlimited power within their sphere of influence, taking their time and making sure to ask the predominantly caucasian, Commonwealth-origin visitors lots of annoying questions.
The man in front of my friend's brother was a British businessman (suit, etc) who was kind of put out by the slowness and the delays previously experienced. Once he got to the head of the queue, the immigration official apparently sensed this and began asking a series of questions of dubious value, including asking if the man had ever been incarcerated.
Finally at his breaking point, the man said in a fairly haughty tone, "Why? Is that still a prerequisite for entry to Australia?"
At that point the Briton was refused entry and was told he had to go back to Hong Kong.
Like I said, I have no idea if this is true (did you ever need a passport to go from Britain, to HK, to Australia?) or not, but it's kind of a funny story.
Terrorist Plan #27:
Yeah, right.
The one and only time I travelled to Canada, the Canadian border guy asked what nationality I was.
I replied "Texan".
He asked, "You mean American, eh?".
I responded, "Oh yeah, I keep forgetting that the rest of the USA is in Texas too."
True story: last year I lost my (Canadian) passport and had to get a replacement in a hurry because I was going overseas. I chose to pick the passport up at the local passport office because I could be sure to get it in ten days. Mailing it (the usual procedure) would have introduced an uncertain delay I wasn't willing to risk.
When I showed up at the passport office with my barcode receipt, the girl behind the counter scanned the barcode and then went and retrieved my passport.
And then she said: "I'll need to see some ID."
I swear, I Am Not Making This Up.
Her: "I'll need to see some ID."
Me, flabbergasted: "Er... I thought that was the id."
Her, with a warning tone in her voice: "Well, this is a travel document, but in order to release it to you I have to see some ID."
Me, getting snarky: "Well, you know, I thought you could open the passport, look at the picture, look at my face and say 'Hey, that's the guy!' You know -- like you expect border control at every other country in the world to do?"
Her, chilly as the Arctic: "That's as may be, but I'll still need to see some ID."
Me, exasperated: "All right, but what does it say that you trust the Alberta Driver's License security process more than your own?"
I still haven't gotten over that one. =)
It's so busy with tourists during your summer month.
:/
All you pansies near the border can STFU. Farther north, we're lucky if summer falls on a weekend.
My favorite Canadian Customs/Immigration story:
At the time I was a Canadian resident ("landed immigrant"), my brother's a Canadian citizen by birth. We were driving back from Ohio, heading to cross at Detroit/Windsor. About half way there I realized I'd left my (British) passport, along with some other papers, at my girlfriends house (where we'd been visiting). I was a little nervous about crossing without it, even though the usual routine when reentering in a vehicle with Ontario plates was just "where do live" and "how long were you gone".
As it happened, we (me driving) decided to cross through the downtown tunnel, rather than the bridge (I think we just missed the turnoff). Still just a little nervous, we pulled up to the Canadian C&I booth, and I waited for the -- I hoped usual -- questions.
The agent gives us both a look, leans over, and says "got any guns?"
"Uh, what? No."
"Okay, go ahead."
And away we went.
This was about 17 years ago, I imagine it's a little different now, even if that is a very busy crossing.
-- Alastair