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SEATTLE -
New border crossing laws are now in effect, covering trips by land and sea into Canada and other countries. And as we've learned from one family, if you're not careful, you can get into trouble.
Tom Patamia, from Seattle, headed to Whistler for a family skiing trip in April not anticipating any problems. He says, "You don't expect it'll be that difficult to cross the border into Canada." Normally, no. But Tom was taking a nap in the car, and his dad, not from the area, was driving.
Tom woke up to find his car in the wrong lane--the Nexus lane, used for people who cross the border regularly. Border agents brought Tom and his family inside for an experience no one wants to have. Tom calls it "disconcerting, and a little nerve-wracking."
His wife wasn't with him. She was coming up a day later, and that had border officers asking child custody questions. The saving grace for the Patamias? Tom and his kids all had passports, which the Passport Agency says everyone should consider this summer. As Teresa Bobotek of the U.S. Passport Agency in Seattle says, "It's a good time to have a passport, and get one in advance."
The rules change Monday morning. If you're under 16, you can still use a birth certificate. But anyone above that age needs a passport, a passport card, a state enhanced driver's license, or a trusted traveler document like the Nexus card. In the past, border agents would accept nearly 8,000 different documents for travel, from county birth certificates to other ID's. But not any more. As Michele James, from the U.S. Customs Department says, "Essentially, what this will mean for the United States is more secure borders, and more efficient borders."
So if you would like to have a good trip over the border, here's what Tom Patamia wants you to know. "Maybe you check with the border authorities to know exactly what they would require, so you don't get into an awkward situation like we did."
Tom Patamia, from Seattle, headed to Whistler for a family skiing trip in April not anticipating any problems. He says, "You don't expect it'll be that difficult to cross the border into Canada." Normally, no. But Tom was taking a nap in the car, and his dad, not from the area, was driving.
Tom woke up to find his car in the wrong lane--the Nexus lane, used for people who cross the border regularly. Border agents brought Tom and his family inside for an experience no one wants to have. Tom calls it "disconcerting, and a little nerve-wracking."
His wife wasn't with him. She was coming up a day later, and that had border officers asking child custody questions. The saving grace for the Patamias? Tom and his kids all had passports, which the Passport Agency says everyone should consider this summer. As Teresa Bobotek of the U.S. Passport Agency in Seattle says, "It's a good time to have a passport, and get one in advance."
The rules change Monday morning. If you're under 16, you can still use a birth certificate. But anyone above that age needs a passport, a passport card, a state enhanced driver's license, or a trusted traveler document like the Nexus card. In the past, border agents would accept nearly 8,000 different documents for travel, from county birth certificates to other ID's. But not any more. As Michele James, from the U.S. Customs Department says, "Essentially, what this will mean for the United States is more secure borders, and more efficient borders."
So if you would like to have a good trip over the border, here's what Tom Patamia wants you to know. "Maybe you check with the border authorities to know exactly what they would require, so you don't get into an awkward situation like we did."
