Want to check out TJ clubs but no passport. Doable?
knobsnbobs
L.A. All Day
Im going to San Diego soon after my trip to Dallas (yes I travel for work A LOT if anyone has noticed my previous out-of-town questions about clubs lol) and I have never had a passport before. Can I still cross in and out of Mexico safely and check out the clubs there?
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You used to be able to cross with a certified or mini-birth certificate but that was before 9/11. I cross the USA/Canada boarder a decent amount and the Canadian side could give two shits what credentials you have, but you're not getting back into the USA without a passport.
The "card" is pretty robust and will fit in your wallet, whereas the "book" is big, floppy, and fragile.
Don't that my word for it. I've never had a password either. I keep thinking I need to get one too (work keeps asking .. I think they gave up) for it's like over a $100, and I keep putting it off because of the money.
I'd get a password card, if I were you. If you have the extra $$, I'd get the passport book too. It's good to have both, from what I've read. The card is robust and works better than your Drivers License as an ID when you are in a foreign country.
The "card" is pretty robust and will fit in your wallet, whereas the "book" is big, floppy, and fragile.
Don't take my word for it. I've never had a Passport either. I keep thinking I need to get one too (work keeps asking me to get one for travel.. I think they finally gave up) but it's like over a $100, not counting renewals, so I keep putting it off because of the money.
I'd get a password card, if I were you. If you have the extra $$, I'd get the passport book, too. It's good to have both, from what I've read. The card is robust and works better than your Drivers License as an ID when you are in a foreign country. (Lots of other countries have national IDs so they aren't always used to seeing "state drivers licenses" and many locals will think the "passport card" is just your U.S. national ID card … which it kind of functions as.
Perhaps someone that has used both can confirm.
in 2016.... You need a passport book or passport card to enter back into the USA. YOu might be able to get back in with a DL... but it might take hours to get cleared.
The pass port book costs $110 and the pass port card is like $55 for the card and processing fees (first time users I think). You can get both the card and book for $140.
Flew to Canada earlier this year and cleared customs on both sides without having my passport stamped at all. Kind of bummed me out, not having a Canadian stamp in there. Not sure if this would happen on the Mexican border or not.
And Papi laid it out above, a passport card will get you back and forth across the US/Mexico border just fine, unless you are flying. But it takes a while to get a passport application processed and back to you. So plan ahead.
If nothing else, go to the border crossing and ask the Customs agents there. They should have the answers you need.
You used too be able to do it with a driver's license (and be hasseled a little bit by border patrol) but not any more. And now you need to go through a process to get in to Mexico as well.
I haven't made the TJ trip since they changed the rules. Don't have a passport and I'm only in SD once a year. Not worth it for me at this time. If I lived in SD or southern CA it would be a monthly sojourn.
What I rarely see people talk about is that it seems you now need a Visa (called - Forma Migratoria Múltiple) to get into Mexico that gets stamped at the border and you have to show your Passport at time of stamping. Since I've never crossed myself I don't know how true this is. It seems that it is necessary even if you are staying less that 72 hours which previously required nothing.
I would bet most Americans have not traveled out of the country.
SJG
Just got back from TJ a couple hours ago and successfully crossed in and out with only my DL. Hell yeah. I didn't get majorly hassled but I did get a "warning" from border guards. Anyway, there's the answer if anyone wanted to know or wants to know in the future.