Why has the Passport Requirement for Land Border Travel Been Delayed?
Originally, the passport requirements for land border travel were supposed to be implemented by January 2008, but in October 2006, the President signed into law a delay of this deadline until June 2009. The main reason for the delay is because the Department of Homeland Security is attempting to develop a PASS CARD system. This system will create drivers license-sized cards that will serve as limited use passports for land border entries from Mexico and the US. The Senate recognized that the PASS CARD system could not be properly implemented by the original deadline, so they passed the Leahy-Stevens Amendment which delayed the deadline until sometime prior to (or on) June 2009. Read the actual legislation from Senator Leahy’s website Read the documentation of the President signing the June 2009 deadline – Page 3; bottom right paragraph Should You Get a Passport Now? If you think you may be driving to Mexico after June 2009, then you should probably go ahead and get a passport sometime
