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Current Events
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Passport cards available this spring
Beginning February 1, U.S. passport applicants have the option of applying for a "passport card," a form of identification designed to help travelers comply with the U.S. government’s Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. The cards are intended for people who live near and cross over U.S. borders frequently and may be used for land and sea border crossings only.
According to the U.S. Department of State, the passport cards will be issued this spring and will be the size of a standard driver’s license, enabling travelers to carry it in their wallets. The cards will be valid for 10 years for adults, and will cost $45 USD. Adults who already possess a valid passport but want the passport card for convenience may purchase it for $20 USD.
Each card will include the traveler’s photograph, a bar code, and a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip. The RFID chip will not contain any personal information; rather, it will be encoded with an identification number that correlates to the traveler’s record within the Customs and Border Protection database.
Click here to learn more about the passport cards, and to view an example of what they will look like.
Sources: Travel Weekly, Miami Herald
DOT clarifies lithium battery restrictions
As previously reported in CWT Traveler, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on January 1 banned air passengers from traveling with loose lithium batteries in checked baggage. At the time, the DOT also stated that passengers could carry onboard two “extended-life rechargeable lithium batteries” if they were stored in plastic bags or their original packaging.
A recent clarification from the DOT states that travelers can pack unlimited amounts of loose batteries in their carry-on bags. However, they strongly recommend passengers keep all batteries in individual compartments or bags, or leave them in their original packaging.
According to the DOT, there is one exception to the carry-on clarification: “Passengers toting lithium batteries that have 8 to 25 grams of equivalent lithium content are limited to two uninstalled batteries in each carry-on.” Common battery-powered travel items, such as laptops and cell phones, use batteries with much less lithium content.
Sources: CWT Traveler, USA TODAY
