The United States recognizes 192 countries. Suffice it to say, each country has its own rules and regulations for entry. The U.S. Department of State is the official source for passport and visa requirements. Contact information is available online at the U.S. National Passport Information Center, including a help line at (877) 4USA-PPT. The agency suggests you allow 4-6 weeks for passport processing. If you need to travel unexpectedly and require a passport sooner, visit How to Get Your Passport in a Hurry.

The following links will see you from start to finish:

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 What it takes cross the border by land or by sea

New entry requirements take effect January 31, 2008

Entry requirements for land and sea travel between the U.S. and Canada will change on January 31, 2008. The hop and skip across the border will include more of a jump (through hoops) in the form of added documentation. Two forms of ID will be required: government-issued photo ID and a document showing the holder's U.S. citizenship. In this day of heighten security, it's hard to believe that a verbal declaration of citizenship was once all you needed to visit our neighbors to the north.

Entry requirements for traveling to Canada

Americans traveling between the U.S. and Canada by air must have a valid passport. (This rule has been in place since last year.)

A Trip Tip for Frequent Cross-Border Drivers

If you drive frequently between the U.S. and Canada, consider the NEXUS program. It's designed to expedite border crossings for pre-screened and approved low-risk travelers. 

Introducing the U.S. Passport Card

Beginning in spring 2008, the passport card will facilitate entry and expedite document processing at U.S. land and sea ports of entry when arriving from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. Be clear that this is not a passport but a new form of ID introduced as a less costly option for U.S. travelers visiting the aforementioned destinations.

Related Links:

Canadians: Travel Documents for Entering the United States

Got the border-crossing blues? Here's what you need to know.

Requirements for traveling with children to Canada

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St. Pancras Station gallery  

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My grandfather, a man steeped in the ways of the old country, was my favorite sage. Once after visiting a relative he remarked, "I didn't feel particularly welcome."

Such things can escape the palate and attention of a 10-year-old boy, especially where milk and Oreos are involved, but if you're a sage, nuance is everything.

For my grandfather, the allocation of everyday dishes, a half-pour of coffee and store-bought cookies meant we should keep our visit short.

Travel seems to be a lot like that these days; the door may be open, but the hug seems perfunctory.

Clearing immigrations is a perfect example, having evolved into a gauntlet of checks that can leave the most seasoned traveler unsettled and thinking of home.

Certainly security takes center stage and there's no denying the importance of safe travel and secure surroundings, but be prepared for the next step in travel security requirements: biometric identifiers such as electronic fingerprinting or iris scans. (My money's on the fingerprint.)

It will likely be the norm for all international travel within a few years.

The United States has been requiring biometric identifiers for visa applicants and visa waiver program travelers since 2004.

At the time, the BBC asked U.K. travelers how they felt about being fingerprinted upon entry to the U.S. The dialogue was spirited; read comments.

Fast forward to 2007, the U.K. now requires fingerprints for visa applicants from over 100 countries. By April 2008, fingerprints will be required for every foreign national applying for a British visa.

Beginning November 23, 2007, all foreign travelers to Japan will be photographed and fingerprinted upon landing in Japan.

The Immigration Bureau of Japan has produced an informative and equally entertaining online video outlining the program and fielding FAQs.

And while some well-intended dubbing adds to its charm, the real star is not the question-asking, deliciously-abrasive American; it's the process itself.

Take a look at the video if you're interested in seeing the future of international travel security. Rest assured, your fingers will remain ink-free and no one will say, "Book 'em, Danno!"

The video is in English on the Japan Immigration Bureau site: view now.

What's been your experience going through immigrations?

Safe travels,

 Tom

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• Register so the State Department can better assist you in an emergency
• Sign passport, and fill in the emergency information:
• Leave copies of itinerary and passport data page
• Check your overseas medical insurance coverage
• Take precautions to avoid being a target of crime
• Contact the Department of State in an emergency

Safety and health are everything whether at home or on the road, so don't miss the section about How to Have a Safe Trip.

What are your tips for traveling abroad?

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It’s time to knock off your love of knock-offs, especially if your travel plans take you to France.  The land of Chanel, Lacoste and Vuitton is taking the act of product counterfeiting seriously and is waging a campaign against the illegal practice. Anyone feigning ignorance of the law will receive a quick lesson from authorities as fines can exceed 300,000 euros and three years in prison.  (The cost of fashion just went up.)

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Hold the presses, passport applicants have a bit of reprieve as the onslaught of passport applications has caused a processing backlog. 

The headline is a bit of a mouthful, and there's more. The U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security announced that U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for but not yet received passports can nevertheless temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007. (Whew!) The federal government is making this accommodation for air travel due to longer than expected processing times for passport applications in the face of record-breaking demand. For more information see links below:

U.S. Citizens with Pending Passport Applications
Temporary Travel Flexibility for U.S. Citizens Air Environment

Some travelers may be eligible for refunds for delays in expedited passport application. Read more about this on our blog.

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If you opted to pay the additional $60 to have your passport processing expedited, you may be in line for a refund if your passport was delayed.  According to The Post-Standard, you're eligible for a refund if you paid for expedited service, only to receive your passport two weeks later. 

How to get refunds on expedited passport fees.

Submit a written request to the address below. Include your passport number (if available), name, date and place of birth, and approximate date you applied for a passport. A mailing address and phone number should also be included.

Refund applications should be sent to:

Department of State
Passport Services/PPS/Refunds
2100 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20037-3202

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Perhaps it's receiving an untimely solicitation for AARP membership in the mail, or coming to the realization that I've never owned so many sweatpants, or ascertaining that I'm just a few holiday meals short of needing to request a seatbelt extension, or the acceptance that Netflix is my most visited Web site; but as of late I'd have to say my hip factor is in dire need of repair, revival or replacement.

What pushed me down this slippery slope of superficial self-evaluation and soul searching? It all began with an email from my friend Peter about a new breed of traveler, the Jetrosexual. We can thank Virgin Atlantic for the moniker and my current state of malaise (though using a French word ought to count for something).

What is a Jetrosexual? I fear that since I have to ask, I am surely not one. My investigation took me to the epicenter of hip, Virgin Atlantic's Web site, which proudly brandishes the 11 Commandments of a Jetrosexual. (I eagerly scanned for words like crossword puzzles, NPR and sensible shoes, but to no avail.)

The 11 Commandments of a Jetrosexual

1. Thou shalt leave terra firma behind in order to move business and culture forward.
   
2. Thou shalt travel economy class, on rare occasions, just to keep thine self humble.
   
3. Thou shalt have at least one passport stamp from a country that now goes by a different name.
   
4. Thou shalt not own one of those inflatable neck pillows.
   
5. Thou shalt be able to pack a week's worth of clothes into a single carry-on bag.
   
6. Thou shalt respect the five-minute rule when using thine lavatory.
   
7. Thou shalt be able to order a beer in at least six different languages.
8. Thou shalt never hold up the security line.
9. Thou shalt not be a chatty Cathy with thine seatmate.
10. Thou shalt have a favorite airport and be prepared to explain why it is thine fave.
11. Thou shalt have thine passport ready to go at a moment's notice.

All hope is not lost. I reckon (Jetrosexuals likely don't use the word reckon) that if I can adhere to number nine, I'm halfway home, make that halfway to my very trendsetting destination.

(Hmmm, which flight would James Bond choose?

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The State Department has come up with its top-ten travelers tip list. Unfortunately it's nothing akin to a David Letterman top-ten list, but perhaps that's best, because as we all know international travel is no laughing matter. :-)

1. Make sure you have a signed, valid passport (and visas, if required). Also, before you go, fill in the emergency information page of your passport.

2. Read the Consular Information Sheets (and Public Announcements or Travel Warnings, if applicable) for the countries you plan to visit. (See "Consular Information Program" section for more details.)

3. Familiarize yourself with local laws and customs of the countries to which you are traveling. Remember, the U.S. Constitution does not follow you! While in a foreign country, you are subject to its laws.

4. Make two copies of your passport identification page. This will facilitate replacement if your passport is lost or stolen. Leave one copy at home with friends or relatives. Carry the other with you in a separate place from your passport.

5. Leave a copy of your itinerary with family or friends at home so that you can be contacted in case of an emergency.

6. Do not leave your luggage unattended in public areas. Do not accept packages from strangers.

7. If you plan to stay abroad for more than two weeks, upon arrival you should notify by phone or register in person with the U.S. embassy in the country you are visiting. This will facilitate communication in case someone contacts the embassy looking for you.

8. To avoid being a target of crime, try not to wear conspicuous clothing and expensive jewelry and do not carry excessive amounts of money or unnecessary credit cards.

9. In order to avoid violating local laws, deal only with authorized agents when you exchange money or purchase art or antiques.

10. If you get into trouble, contact the nearest U.S. Embassy

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Q: In the past when returning from India with spices and cooked sausages, they were thrown out by U.S. Customs. Where can I get an itemized list of permitted items? -Chris G.

A. Chris, as a man who knows two things to be true: cake is really just a vehicle for the icing and travel is an excuse to eat out, I feel your hunger pain.

My memories of travel are usually based on menus, markets and food vendors. Sure I can focus on a business meeting, just as long as I know there's lunch between PowerPoint presentations and the promise of local cuisine later in the day.

Bringing home a few culinary souvenirs seems innocent enough, but the curious canines of U.S. Customs care little of the delectability of your smuggled treats; it all smells like contraband to the beagle brigade.

Of course, you can eat it on the plane or dispense samples before landing.

Once I had no choice but to throw an impromptu mixer between coach and business class when I learned my parcel of pates and cheeses would become fodder for the Customs garbage can. (Secretly, I wonder if the Customs break room resembles the food court at Harrods.) My new friends and I landed with indigestion, but we gave up nary a gram of France's finest snack food to the waste bin.

U.S. Customs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture take illegal entry of foreign fruits, vegetables and animals into the U.S. quite seriously, and have raised fines to eye-watering levels. For travelers entering the United States who do not declare agricultural products, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) can now charge up to $50,000 in fines, though $1,000 seems to be the standard for first time offenders.

Here are some links to the information you requested:

U.S. Customs Prohibited and Restricted Items

Know Before You Go

Department of Agriculture: On Bringing Food, Plant, and Animal Products Into the United States (Pamphlet still in use)

While we're on it, you may wish to learn about duty-free exemptions.

Feigning ignorance rarely works, especially when your tax dollars have been spent so brilliantly on online education.

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