In San Diego, California, there are many citizens, residents and visitors who enter the United States from Mexico. In San Diego County, there are two major border crossing facilities: San Ysidro and Otay Mesa. These are operated by the Department for Homeland Security. In order to enter the United States, you must prove that you are a United States Citizen, a United States Permanent Residence or a Legal Alien (visitor for any number of reasons) and there are many documents which can establish this.
In San Diego, many citizens travel to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean by land and sea. The State Department has recently begun accepting applications for the United States Passport Card. This will facilitate entry and expedite document processing at United States Ports of Entry. In San Diego, this is very applicable since many citizens take cruise ships and enter at the Port of San Diego.
This card will have the same validity period as a passport book: 5 years for children age 15 and younger and ten years for adults. The passport card will contain a vicinity-read radio frequency identification chip known as RFID. This will facilitate frequent border travelers. There are many technical rules and these are included on the website.
At Law Office of Scott C. Soady, A Professional Corporation, LLP, we know how important it is for our clients to have the most up to date information on any changes in the law which may affect their life. In San Diego, California, passport books can now be obtained from many local post offices and our firm recommends this as a strategy for first time passport applicants as well as renewals due to being able to appear in person for the passport and this lessens the possibility of documents being lost in the mail.