I am traveling to the Dominican Republic with the girlfriend in August. I do not have a passport because when I was traveling to Mexico a few years ago all I needed was my license and a original birth certificate with a raised seal.
Is this still the case till 2009? I was looking on the State Department website which had this exerpt:
Does that mean I am OK with my birth certificate to travel till next year to get back in? Where can I find what I need to get into the Dominican Republic?
Do you know how to read?
If you are flying, you need a passport.
If you are taking a boat, you only need a birth certificate.
Your flying there right?
then no. you need your passport for international travel outside of the US and Canada.
EDIT - what’s funny is that you posted the answer to your own question.
I’d say no, unless you’re going by boat.
The same thing, with the vague and confusing “other valid travel document” part removed.
http://travelwithkids.about.com/od/insurancedocuments/a/passports.htm
What’s changed about Passport Requirements?
Before January 2007, US citizens were able to travel to Canada, Mexico, and many countries in the Caribbean without needing passports. Birth certificates and photo id were sufficient.Passport ID is now required, as part of a “Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative” that the US is implementing for border security. (Read more at the US State Dept. site.)
The first phase of new passport requirements began January 23 2007, for air travel: all US citizens – adults and kids–need passports for air travel to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico and Canada, in order to enter or re-enter the US.
Arrivals by sea: cruise passengers, meanwhile, have a different date; passports won’t be required until June 1 2009, for those crossing borders by sea.
have fun getting your passport by august.
He’ll probably be OK if he gets it done this week. Looks like about 4 weeks for standard processing right now, 3 if you pay for expedited:
Are to floating there on a raft?
If it gets close, all he has to do is call his congressman’s office. Higgins got my cousin’s pushed through in 17 days :tup:
go apply for your passport asap. the government is expediting the passport process. they’ve hired banks to do the paper work to get the passports out faster than normal due to the surge in applications.
ex) the lockbox at citi.
FUCK!
Well I guess if the trip doesn’t get booked by this weekend I am not going since I might not have time to get a passport. I will let the girlfriend go and ill just stay in the US and go to Vegas or something.
My fiancé filed for her passport 3 weeks ago…and received it last week. 2 WEEKS!
The the wait is no where near as long as it was this time last year.
Yeah, my passport came in probably 5 weeks, and that was a couple months ago. It’s since been even more speedy.
The wait is way less than everyone thinks…
Before I went to the Bahamas I paid to get it expedited and my sister who filed hers normal time got hers 5 days after me.
You should be fine. But there is NO reason not to have one.
I got my passport in just over a week.
But that was in Canada. 
I went on 6/10 for a passport. It was shipped yesterday and I should receive it on 6/23.
Paid for regular processing.
That’s impressive.
dont they expire tho? i think that was my original thought not to get one since i am not allowed in canada and didn’t want it to expire.
you can pay for a rush on it. My fiance’ ordered hers with a rush and had it back in 4 business days. I think the rush cost an extra $60
they are valid for 10 years