U.S. Homeland Security Chief to Sign Off on a Possible Alternative to Passports to Be Used at the Washington./ B.C. Border

In the near future, there may be an alternative to passports, if you are crossing the U.S. Border into Canada, between Washington state and British Columbia.

On Friday, the 23rd of March, 2007, Michael Chertoff , the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, will be signing off on a pilot project that will use high-technology drivers licenses in lieu of a passport in order to cross the border between Washington and B.C.. This program could be in effect, at land and sea crossings, by January 2008.

The new special drivers license, or passcard, will cost $40 dollars, about half the current price of a U.S. passport. The passcard will contain a frequency I.D. chip which has proof of the cardholder's United States citizenship imbedded in it. The Nexus frequent traveler program currently uses the same technology.

The Nexus program allows frequent travelers between the U.S. and Canada to enter either country by water, air or land with less formality. Drivers may use specially designated Nexus lanes and the card is put through a scanner that reads the information. The Nexus program is available at certain border points between Ontario/New York or Michigan, Quebec/ Vermont or New York, or B.C./Washington. If traveling by air, the traveler goes through an iris scan which gives customs quick access to their personal information. The applicants must be either United States or Canadian citizens, and not be any kind of security risk to either the U.S. or Canada, in order to receive membership in the Nexus program.

B.C. Minister of State for Intergovernmental Affairs, John van Dongen, is planning to create similar documentation to the proposed passcard, for Canadian citizens in British Columbia at an unstated future date. The idea is also endorsed by other Canadian provinces and could catch on in other states in the U.S.

Under new regulations, Canadians and U.S. citizens flying are required to carry a passport since the 23rd of January; however, due to the recent high influx of passport applications, and the backlog of applications being processed, the U.S. has been allowing some people on incoming flights through without one.