Jaltemba Sol

New passport cards available to U.S. travelers who drive to Mexico

Go to original article

For Bay Area residents who drive often to Mexico but find the cost of a passport off-putting, the State Department's new passport cards may be the solution.

These wallet-sized identification cards can be a good value, especially for families with children. An adult passport costs $xx, as compared to $45 for the passport card. For children under 16, the passport card costs just $35.

Remember that as of June 1, 2009, Americans will be required to provide a single document that proves both citizenship and identity at border crossings; for most people, that will mean a passport or passport card.

One hitch: These cards are not valid for any type of air travel. They are designed to speed land crossings between the United States and Mexico or Canada, as well as sea crossings to the Caribbean or Bermuda.

More than 350,000 Americans pre-ordered the passport cards, according to the State Department, and all existing orders are expected to be filled by Sept. 30. New applications will take about four weeks to process.

If you already have a passport but want the card anyway because of the convenient size or quick scanning, it's only $20 and can be ordered by mail.

For details on how and where to get a passport card, check www.travel.state.gov.