From: Dave Borneman
Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2010 4:15 PM
To: birders@umich.edu
Subject: [birders] Do you REALLY need a passport for Canada??
A friend asked me if you REALLY, REALLY need to have a passport
to get to and from Pt. Pelee, of if a birth certificate and a
social security card and a driver's license would work instead.
Any thoughts?
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Subject: [birders] chat/entering the US from Canada
From: Crystal Keller
Date: Sun, May 16, 2010, 8:15 AM
I know people, and of people, who claim you can almost certainly
reenter the United States if you only have your birth certificate.
The reasoning seems to be that to detain you would be a hassle for US
Customs.
But I wouldn't chance it. Compare the options for passport, passport
card, and enhanced drivers license. (Our family is going with
passport cards.)
http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-1627_8669_53333---,00.html
http://travel.state.gov/passport/ppt_card/ppt_card_3926.html
Crystal Keller
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Subject: [birders] RE: Do you REALLY need a passport for Canada??
From: Elise S. Levasseur
Date: Mon, May 17, 2010, 11:38 AM
Birders:
Were it only as easy for us to cross an international border as
our fine feathered friends. It is not often that I can provide
information to the birder's list about which I could ever be
considered "expert." In this one instance however, as I am a U.S.
Immigration Attorney, I can share with other birders information
on documentation that is acceptable for U.S. Citizens ("USC") to
use for seeking admission into Canada, and for returning to the
U.S. via land (or sea). Please be advised that with regard to
USC's returning to the U.S. after travel outside of the U.S. via
land or sea, the rules have indeed changed as of June 1, 2009. It
is no longer acceptable to travel via land or sea merely with a
U.S. Birth Certificate.
While the rules are more relaxed when a USC is seeking admission
into Canada, a USC must be able demonstrate to the satisfaction
to Canadian immigration authorities that he/she is admissible to
Canada, that is that he or she is seeking temporary admission
into Canada as a USC for an appropriate purpose as a visitor to
Canada. While presenting only a U.S. birth certificate is not
likely to bar a USC's admission into Canada, Canadian immigration
authorities highly recommend a U.S. passport. This is in part
because Canada Immigration wants to be sure that you have proper
documentation in order to be able to return to the U.S.
The problem is not so much entering Canada as it is returning to
the U.S. When one returns to the U.S., one will be dealing with
US Customs and Border Protection Officers, and one must prove
admissibility to the U.S. As stated, since June 1, 2009, US
Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) now requires in most
instances that all USC's present to the USCBP one of the
following documents found at:
http://www.getyouhome.gov/html/lang_eng/index.html. Those
documents are also listed below:
1) U.S. Passport;
2) U.S. Passport Card;
3) Enhanced Driver's License (EDL); or
4) Trusted Traveler Program Cards - NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST enrollment
Having said that, while the U.S. government cannot really bar
USC's from returning to the U.S. after travel to Canada, it can
be very unpleasant to encounter significant delays at a land
port-of-entry, not to mention highly unnerving, including being
sent to "Secondary Inspection" while one's identity and
nationality are being verified while at the same time enduring
lectures from Officers of the USCBP about not having proper
documentation. The impression a USCBP Officer may give, is that
you are not going to be allowed in. It is therefore highly
advisable for USC's to carry with them one of documents as listed
above.
If cost is an issue, a USC could obtain an enhanced Michigan
Driver's License which costs $45.00. A Passport Card only costs
$20.00, but one must have first been issued a U.S. passport in
order to be eligible for a U.S. Passport Card.
I carry with me my U.S. passport, and to date, I have not
encountered a problem when returning to the U.S. via land. I
would be equally comfortable with a Michigan Enhanced Driver's
License or a U.S. Passport Card.
Happy International Birding!!!
Elise S. Levasseur, Esq.
Dickinson Wright PLLC
38525 Woodward Ave.
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304
248-433-7520 (direct)
248-433-7274 (fax)