by Alliance News posted 05/18/2009 Packing up the SUV and heading to Canada for a hockey tournament may have become too overly simplistic and habitual for Rochester Alliance members and our families. On most weekends during the season, area hockey parents traveling to, and from, Canada would never forget to bring their family members' birth certificates.
However,
beginning June 1st, 2009, the U.S. Government will implement proposed rules which require most U.S. citizens 16 years and older entering the United States by land to have a U.S. passport, U.S. passport card (and for us blessed New Yorkers, an 'enhanced drivers' license) or other travel document approved by the Department of Homeland Security.
Visiting - and returning from - our closest neighbor will become much more complex with the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. In fact, if you haven't applied for a passport yet, it may be time you give it serious thought. For Alliance hockey families, the rules are fairly straightforward. Present a U.S. passport, U.S. passport card or 'enhanced driver's licence', for those 16 and over. Children under the age of 16 will be able to present the ORIGINAL or COPY of their birth certificate.
Here are some additional links - with more comprehensive information - to help you understand the current and pending regulations for traveling to and from Canada (and other countries):
