New Passport ID Rules Begin for United States and Canada Visitors

The American border tightens today – sort of.

Despite new documentation requirements coming into effect today, Canadians will still be allowed across the U.S. border without a passport or enhanced driver's licence during this summer travel season.

WHAT ID YOU CAN USE

PASSPORTS:

Over half of Canadians already have one. Adult passports cost $87. Applications take two to four weeks to process.

FAST CARDS:

Commercial drivers can apply to the Free and Secure Trade program, designed to expedite trade of low-risk goods.

U.S. PASSPORT CARDS:

Designed for American residents of border communities, the passport card is cheaper than a full passport.

SECURE CERTIFICATE OF INDIAN STATUS:

A heavy Canadian lobby effort convinced U.S. officials to add status cards to the list of acceptable border documents.

NEXUS CARDS:

They are available to citizens and permanent residents of Canada or the U.S. who have lived continuously in one of these countries for the past three years. The cards allow access to special lanes at road crossings.

After a night of negotiations with officials from the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne about the contentious plan to arm border guards, the post was abandoned, Grand Chief Tim Thompson said in a statement.