New International Travel Document Requirements

Effective on 1/23/07, all persons, including U.S. citizens traveling by air to and from the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda are required to present a ‘valid passport, Air NEXUS card, U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document, or an Alien Registration Card, Form I-551, if applicable.’

Also, according to the U.S. Department of State, it is the intention of the Department of Homeland Security to extend this requirement include traveling by land or sea (including ferries), as early as January 1, 2008.

The passport requirement does NOT apply to U.S. citizens traveling to or returning directly from a U.S. territory, as they are not considered to have left the United States.
U.S. territories include the following: Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

The bottom line: get a passport (sooner than later).

For more information go here, or call 1-877-487-2778 for assistance in applying for a passport.