Lower cost Passport Cards available to residents

By GWEN ALBERS

Managing editor

Passport Cards, which cost less than Passports, are now available.

By June 1, 2009, anyone driving from Canada to the United States and vice-versa will need a Passport. A 10-year Passport costs $100 for adults plus the $25 processing fee.

Passport Cards are $45 for adults or $35 for youth plus the $25 fee, said county clerk Glenda Poston. They look similar to a driver's license or credit card.

"They're for those who live in bordering communities," Poston said. "They're less expensive and less bulky."

Passport Cards are only good for traveling by land or sea into Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean, Poston said. The cards are good for 10 years for adults and five years for youth — just like a regular Passport.

"If you apply for both at the same time, it's $120 for both," she said.

Residents can only apply for Passport Cards and Passports at the Boundary County Courthouse.

In related matters, since Jan. 31, Americans and Canadians 19 and older could no longer rely on oral declaration to cross the border. A new law requires people to show their birth certificate and a government identification at the border.

Conrad Gonzales, an officer with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Eastport, said nearly everyone complied.

"We've been passing out these pamphlets for about 1 1/2 months," Gonzales said. "Most present Passports."

Initially, the law requiring Passports at the border was to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2008. Legislation has now delayed it to as early as June 2009. In the past, a passport had not been required.

The county clerk's office in 2007 issued more than three times the number of Passports as it did in 2006. By early November last year, 672 Passports had been issued for 2007. The same office issued 390 in 2006.

When applying for passports, applicants must have two passport photos, which can be taken at photo studios and Walmart. Applicants also need a certified copy of their birth certificate with a raised seal and no footprints.

Passports and Passport Cards are issued 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the courthouse. Call 267-2242 for information.