The Department of Homeland Security
is implementing new rules, effective June 1, 2009:
U.S. citizens, entering the United States at sea or land ports of entry are required to
have documents that comply with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI),
most commonly a U.S. passport, a passport card, a trusted traveler card such
as NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST, or an enhanced driver's license.
See the
complete list of WHTI-compliant documents here.
Note that
language under "special groups" at this link. Children 16 years old
and younger have less stringent requirements. As of June, 2009,
here is what the site had to say:
"Children: Beginning June 1, 2009, U.S. and
Canadian citizen children under age 16 arriving by land or sea from
contiguous territory may also present an original or copy of his or her
birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, a Naturalization
Certificate, or a Canadian Citizenship Card."
Passport application and renewal
information is available here:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html
