All persons, U.S. Citizen or foreign nationals must present a valid passport or alternate approved travel document to enter or depart from the United States by air. Additional information is available below.
- General Travel Information at the U.S. State Department
- Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection www.getyouhome.gov
- List of Countries in the Caribbean Region
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) was mandated by Congress in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to strengthen border security and facilitate entry into the United States for citizens and legitimate international visitors. WHTI requirements for air travel took effect on January 23, 2007.
Since implementation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has and will continue to exercise its current authorities in unique circumstances to allow individuals subject to the WHTI requirements into the United States based on other evidence of identity and citizenship.
Travel document security remains a top priority for the U.S. Government. Both the 9/11 Commission and the U.S. Congress urged strengthening of travel documents to prevent entry of terrorists across our borders, reduce use of fraudulent documents, and speed up entry procedures.
It is strongly recommended that all citizens of both Canada and the United States carry passports when crossing the U.S. / Canada border.
For additional information, please see:
EFFECTIVE JUNE 1, 2009 Travelers entering the U.S. through a land or sea border must present a passport or WHTI-compliant document. For more information on WHTI click here.
Effective June 1, 2009, U. S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials will begin to require that all travelers, including citizens of both Canada and the United States, present a valid passport, passport card, or WHTI compliant document when entering the U.S. through a land or sea border. For more information, click here.
The general information above applies to both American and Canadian citizens. For more detailed and up-to-date information please refer to the U.S. State Dept. web page linked below.
And here are links to additional related information:
- Know Before You Go - an online brochure for Americans from U.S. Customs
- NEXUS - Frequent Traveler Program - for low risk pre-screened travelers between USA and Canada
If you need to apply for a U.S. Passport then use the link below for detailed information.
Printable Summary of RequirementsClick on the following image for a full size printable version in Acrobat format
