tequilatodd
Guest
RIP Bill Bixby
Loved that show and Family Affair, also.
Older than 16 requires passport....
We've been using our kids expired passport cards for a year now, through San Luis and Lukeville. Not a single issue, maybe because kids are under 14.
Our passport cards are still valid.
But also know several families that refuse to spend money on passports, and are still allowed to cross. I guess it's just a scare tactic. Never heard of anyone being denied entry.
A BP officer once told me, "a US citizen, will always be a US citizen."
And another told me expired passports are still good for crossing the border. Maybe that's why our kids passports are "good enough".
brokenwave
Guest
Last 3 trips down with expired passports for our 17 and 18 year old teenagers, BP agents never said a word. Imagine that.
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dirtsurfer
Guest
I believe that the U.S. guards definitely keep a database of those who cross without a valid passport. As the driver of the vehicle and passport holder I was fairly harshly admonished for allowing someone in my car who did not carry a passport last weekend. The bottom line is: get your passports or you risk further scrutiny and hassle.
InkaRoads
cronopiador
my experience is that not matter what if you are a USA citizen your right is to be allowed to return to your country thru any border crossing, they might hold you at the border until your information reaches them and then release you however if this is your fifth or tenth time doing it they will hassle you and possibly hold you for a couple of hours so eventually you get tired and get your passport, driving the shuttle these happened a couple of times, one of them on a spring break trip so you can imagine all the kids crying to get home fast!!!
Then again a few times had passengers with lost or stolen passport in Mexico and at the border they did not get any hassle and went thru in a flash, usually using a credit card or a pic id from USA, funny how much information is in the strip on the back of your credit card!!!!
If I were you I would not put off my trip to Mexico with or with out passport!!!
Then again a few times had passengers with lost or stolen passport in Mexico and at the border they did not get any hassle and went thru in a flash, usually using a credit card or a pic id from USA, funny how much information is in the strip on the back of your credit card!!!!
If I were you I would not put off my trip to Mexico with or with out passport!!!
Smilin' Jack
Guest
Passport or no passport, if you are a US citizen you can't be denied entry to your country. Nothing more, nothing less.
Smilin' Jack
Guest
An expired passport doesn't mean that you are no longer a US citizen!
Smilin' Jack
Guest
We have been taking our 91 pound German Sheppard mix with us back and forth. They are mostly interested in rabies shot records, so we take extra copies with us. Sometimes they want a copy, and take a photo, sometimes they only ask to see the papers. Good to be prepared for either and avoid any hassle.
brokenwave
Guest
I just figured they would have said something about the expired passports.
The whole port of entry deal is just a joke, they built an expensive shade cover going from US to Mexico,
I believe some shade was necessary for those agents protecting Mexico from all the vacationing terrorists I see crossing in their RV's.
LOLI haven't seen any agents there asking questions in almost a year. I bet their just hanging out in Ajo at their $600k houses that Homeland Security
built for them.
I don't fault the people manning the border just the decision making process.
tequilatodd
Guest
I haven't spent a lot if time in Ajo. Where are the $600k homes?
brokenwave
Guest
Don't know exactly where in Ajo, but Homeland Security has 21 homes built for Avg cost of $600k each and bought another 20+
mobile homes for Avg cost of $125k each, because they were told there wasn't adequate housing for the agents.
These places were fitted with state of the art stuff and now are too expensive for the many of the border agents to rent.
Here is an excerpt from the final Gov't report:
While it was constructing the 21 family style houses, CBP funded a second housing project in Ajo by purchasing 20 mobile homes for $2.4 million. CBP paid the General Services Administration to manage the project, but did not adequately justify using its services. CBP also increased project funding seven times without specifying the reason for the increases and how the funds would be spent. These issues occurred because CBP ignored recommendations from a study conducted to guide the project. In addition, CBP did not have procedures to prevent purchasing more land than was necessary, as well as nonessential items and amenities. CBP also bypassed key acquisition controls and procedures. As a result, CBP spent about $680,000 per house and about $118,000 per mobile home for employee housing in Ajo, which was significantly more than the Ajo average home price of $86,500. We identified about $4.6 million CBP spent on the project that could have been put to better use. According to CBP, once funding becomes available, it plans to build more houses in Lukeville, close to Ajo.
Here is a link to a AZ Central story about it.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/arizona/politics/2014/09/11/report-cbp-wasted-millions-ajo-housing-agents/15471201/
Another open check book story to find out where our taxes are going to waste.
Mexico is moving up in the world. They installed computors where you get your FMT's. There is a regulation that you have to get a tourest visa.
I have entered both at Lukeville and San lois, and was asked for a visa, twice, and once at Alcadone. We have Perm Res vistas, so was ok.They may start inforceing the visa on the Mex side. Or they may spot stop people coming south. It would be a pain if you get to the border and they hit you for a visa, which you have to have a US or Canada passport, to get one, and they will not let you in. But then take this with a grain of salt, it's Mexico!
I have entered both at Lukeville and San lois, and was asked for a visa, twice, and once at Alcadone. We have Perm Res vistas, so was ok.They may start inforceing the visa on the Mex side. Or they may spot stop people coming south. It would be a pain if you get to the border and they hit you for a visa, which you have to have a US or Canada passport, to get one, and they will not let you in. But then take this with a grain of salt, it's Mexico!
Smilin' Jack
Guest
I have no problem with CBP agents at the border. They can ask as many questions as they require to assure that you are who you say you are, and are authorized entry into the US. However, I have a problem with some agents at the highway BP checkpoints. These are immigration/citizenship checkpoints, and nothing more. As a US citizen, you don't have to answer ANY of their questions. South of Why, they commonly ask: "Where are you coming from?", or "Where are you going?". Neither is any of their business, and I refuse to answer. As a US citizen you are free to travel anywhere in your country without answering to the Border Patrol. Meanwhile, our country is over run by illegal aliens while BP agents are harassing law-abiding US citizens. That's not what we are paying these guys to do.I just figured they would have said something about the expired passports.
The whole port of entry deal is just a joke, they built an expensive shade cover going from US to Mexico,
I believe some shade was necessary for those agents protecting Mexico from all the vacationing terrorists I see crossing in their RV's.
I haven't seen any agents there asking questions in almost a year. I bet their just hanging out in Ajo at their $600k houses that Homeland Security
built for them.
I don't fault the people manning the border just the decision making process.
Southbeacher
Guest
They had to bury all those "border security / deportation" funds somewhere.Don't know exactly where in Ajo, but Homeland Security has 21 homes built for Avg cost of $600k each and bought another 20+
mobile homes for Avg cost of $125k each, because they were told there wasn't adequate housing for the agents.
These place. . . . . . .Another open check book story to find out where our taxes are going to waste.
Visa requirements have to do with time and location in Mexico. As of now the border region for us stretches all the way down to Empalme on the west side of Federal Highway 15.
http://mexico.usembassy.gov/eng/eacs_sheet.html
GringoZona
Guest
Came through on Tuesday around 1pm, only one lane open (the far right one), after about 20 minutes another lane opened. Agent had one car in front of ours, we both had AZ DL, he took them, asked why we didn't have our passports, etc. We went through the motions, apologized, said it was a last-minute trip. What was different than the usual experience was that he said, "I can't wait until the end of the month (May), because then I get to send people into that building there (the main office to the right) and tell them it's going to cost $50 each to do the administrative paperwork!" I can't find anything online about this, especially recent, and nothing on the cbp.gov site, but it seems like this was rumored/floated years ago.
Any truth to what he said?
Any truth to what he said?