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Do you need a US passport for yourself or your children? Family Travel Forum tells you how to get one: easily if you plan ahead or more expensively, if you're running late.

Are you planning an exotic getaway? Traveling with a U.S. passport that's about to expire? Think you may need more passport pages for visas? Have a new baby on board? Don't wait to renew or acquire a U.S. passport or any other required government IDs. Biometric Electronic passports are now required for all U.S. citizens traveling by air to all Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) countries: Caribbean islands, Mexico, Bermuda, and even Canada (areas where a US citizen's birth certificate used to suffice.)

Going into effect on June 1, 2009, are new land and sea requirements.  All US Citizens over 16-years of age must present a valid passport to travel outside of the country, even by car or boat.  Exceptions include kids under the age of 16 who can present an original or copy of their birth certificate or other proof of citizenship to travel by land or sea to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and 17 Caribbean nations.  Teens between the ages of 16 and 18, when traveling with an organized group, can follow the same procedures as younger children.  If not with a group, they, as all adults, will need their own passports.


With these chance, the US developed the U.S. Passport Card. Available since August 2008, this wallet-sized document -- only good for land and sea cross-border travel between the U. S. and WHTI countries -- utilizes a vicinity-read radio frequency identification (RFID) chip to give DHS officers access to photographs and other biographical information before the traveler reaches the inspection booth so that inspection can be facilitated. According to the DHS, "for privacy protection, no personal information is stored on the electronic chip itself." It is not valid for international travel by air, but it only costs $45 for first-time adult applicants and $35 for children under 16. Adults who currently have valid passports can apply for the passport card by mail for $20; visit http://travel.state.gov/ for applications and information.

Regardless of what you choose, plan ahead to apply and receive any government-issued documentation. More than 350,000 Americans pre-ordered the U.S. Passport Cards in its first six-month trial and, according to the Department of State, for the first eight months of fiscal year 2007, the Department issued 10.3 million passports, a 37% increase over the same period last year.

What You'll Need for a Passport

• 14 to 16 Week's Lead Time
• Application (download and fill out before appointment)
• Proof of Citizenship (previous passport, birth certificate)
• Two Photos (professional quality, they've gotten very strict about these)
• Proof of ID (previous passport, driver's license)
• Fees