passport book costs more and does less!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
| Quote: | Originally posted by nbacc
sorry about the above.......I messed up! My question: Is the Passport
card worth getting? How is the line for what they call "ready pass" or something like that at the border? I would love to know if it gets you through
the border wait any faster. I guess you just hold it up to the window. Anyone use one or know anyone who does? Thanks ahead of time. Nancy
|
what marooon in the last bush debacle decided that rfid passports were not adequate for "ready" lanes.
wtf?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
passport book costs more and does less!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
--------------------------------------------
CBP to Open 'Ready Lane' at Otay Mesa Border Crossing
RFID Travel Documents Allow Users Access to Dedicated Lane
(Monday, April 25, 2011)
contacts for this news release
Otay Mesa, Calif. — Beginning Monday, May 2, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will open a new Ready Lane at the Otay Mesa port of entry for
travelers who have a travel document enabled with Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID, technology.
The Ready Lane is a lane for vehicle traffic that only accepts RFID-enabled cards. The new Ready Lane at the Otay Mesa border crossing will be open
Monday through Friday from 4 a.m. until 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. In order to use this dedicated lane, all adult
passengers in the vehicle over the age of 16 must present an approved travel card. The U.S. Passport Card, SENTRI card, the new Legal Permanent
Resident “green card” and the new Border Crossing Card are all RFID-enabled documents.
For example, the Ready Lane can be used by a group of travelers in one vehicle who may have different kinds of RFID-enabled travel documents, such as
if the driver is a member of the SENTRI trusted traveler program, and the passengers all have other kinds of RFID-enabled documents, such as a U.S.
Passport Card or a new Border Crossing Card. While only vehicles with all SENTRI members can use the dedicated SENTRI lane, a group with any mixture
of RFID-enabled travel cards can use the Ready Lane.
“RFID-enabled cards allow our officers to screen travelers faster,” said Chris Maston, director of field operations for CBP in San Diego. “By having a
lane designated just for travelers with these cards, we can reduce the time everyone spends waiting to enter the country, and encourages legitimate
business and tourism for our communities on both sides of the border.”
Preparations for the lane opening will be completed this week, prior to the lane opening on May 2, in the afternoon. CBP has coordinated extensively
with officials in Mexico to ensure that the approaches to the lane on the south side of the border will be clearly marked and easy to understand for
travelers crossing between the two countries. The approach to the Ready Lane will be in Mexico, to the far west side of the lanes of traffic, about
one-third of a mile before the border crossing.
Since the implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), June 1, 2009, U.S. and Canadian citizens entering the United States by
land or sea from Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean, are required to present a valid, WHTI-compliant document. Using a WHTI-compliant document that is
an RFID-enabled travel card allows for more efficient processing of travelers at the border, since RFID technology allows CBP officers to receive
information about travelers faster.
CBP recently opened Ready Lanes in Blaine, Wash., Nogales, Ariz. and Progreso, Texas and has plans to implement additional Ready Lanes at the
Lukeville, Douglas, and San Luis ports of entry over the next few months.
Travelers using the Ready Lane should follow these three simple steps as they approach a U.S. land port of entry with their RFID-enabled travel card:
Stop at the beginning of the lane and make sure each passenger has their card out.
When it is your turn, drive slowly through the lane and hold all cards up on the driver’s side of the vehicle.
Stop at the officer’s booth.
CBP continues to strongly encourage travelers to obtain RFID-enabled card to expedite their entry and to help make crossing the border more efficient.
On the morning of May 2, U.S. State Department officials from the San Diego Passport Agency will be at the Otay Mesa port of entry to provide
information to cross-border travelers about obtaining the U.S. Passport Card, an RFID-enabled travel documents.
WHTI is the joint Department of State-Department of Homeland Security plan that implemented a key 9/11 Commission recommendation to establish document
requirements for travelers entering the United States who were previously exempt, including citizens of the U.S., Canada and Bermuda.
For more information, please visit the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). ( Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) )
|
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
