New Law Will Increase Demand For Passports

Sonora, CA — If you are planning to leave the country next summer, Tuolumne County Clerk and Auditor Debi Russell says now is the time to register for a passport.

A new law will go into effect in June requiring all travelers returning to the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean or Bermuda to have a passport or other federally approved ID.

The change means that American adults will no longer be allowed to use just a driver´s license and birth certificate when traveling across the border by land or boat.

?We recommend that you come in and get your passport within the next couple of months,? says Russell. ?Right now there is not much traffic and you will probably get your passport back within three to five weeks.?

As it gets closer to June, Russell expects demand to pick up considerably, which could result in delays. A passport is already required for all international air travel, so the new law only affects water and land travel.

Written by BJ Hansen