Posted on 11/22/2006 9:59:23 AM PST by chemicalman
Travelers returning from abroad aren't the only people who will need to be carrying passports beginning January eighth.
Deep-sea fishermen who go more than 60 miles into the Gulf of Mexico will need them, too.
Postal Service employee James Coleman says that last month, he issued about 40 passports a day. The previous month, he had issued 40 passports over the whole month.
It's all part of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.
Colemany says the biggest hitch has been people who don't realize they need a birth certificate with an official government stamp.
All members of a family will be required to have a passport - including infants.
Your papers, please....
If you don't think terrorists affect us, think again.
I wonder if you take a cruise to Hawaii you will need to have a passport
If you can get your passport by mail, as I am hearing, and you need the ORIGINAL birth certificate, WHO would mail their original birth cert off to a stranger to do the processing??? I wouldn't and I would need a place where I could go in person and get a passport if needed.
In the midst of identity theft, the bureaucrats want me to mail my original birth certificate????? Not only no, but HE)) NO!!!!!!
That's really great. I can't think of an environment more conducive to losing a passport.
But no picture ID will be required to vote.
From some quick googling, I believe this article may be in very serious error regarding offshore fishing.
"I wonder if you take a cruise to Hawaii you will need to have a passport"
Yes, or if you drive to Alaska. Perhaps even if you try to leave the state of Mass.
How come the illegals crossing over our borders don't require a passport?
Probably John, but Hawaii will stamp a visitors Visa in your Passport on arrival, you won't be required to apply in advance for a Visa at one of their consulates.
Jack, can you confirm?
Once you're 12 miles offshore, you've left the country. It's always been that way, and yes, you're subject to customs search even though you may not have landed anywhere. This isn't anything new.
I'd carry a passport anyway, if only for the chance of landing somewhere other than I'd originally planned.
I'm pretty convinced this rather strange, and very short, article is completely wrong regarding offshore fishing and returning and needing a passport.
I think you're right about there being no passport requirement, just for crossing the border and returning.
My only point was that it ~is~ a border crossing, and while they don't always use it, customs and the CG do have the authority to conduct a full on border search. For a vessel that hasn't landed in a foreign country, I don't think they have the same obligation to visit customs before returning home.
Still better than that 200-green-lights-per-month max law.
"Well, I would like to go out today, although I've already used up all my green lights this month."
One extremely fishing thing about the article (besides not citing any sources) is that "60 miles" is COMPLETELY meaningless from a legal standpoint.
Our territorial waters extend out 12 miles - then there's a "contiguous zone" out to 24 miles, and then the next meaningful distance is the 200 mile EEZ.
There's no meaningful border or boundary 60 miles offshore at all.
You can order an official certified copy of your birth certificate off the internet (or anyone else's for that matter) if you know date of birth, place of birth, father's full name and mother's full maiden name.
So you don't have a passport?! Big deal. It's an inconvenience. Just land in Mexico and walk across the border. Thousands of people do it every day. They'll never stop that from happening.
Word of mouth spreading from offshore workers are saying that you do need one if working more than 60 miles offshore. Don't know if it's true or not.
"Passport, please!"
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