New License

[NYEric]

The NYS government [Dept. of Motor Vehicles] is finally doing something right. Starting today there is a new license [$80 I think] that will let a person go by land or boat to Mexico and Canada without a passport. I am making plans to go to CA right now! :clap:

 

[Roy]

The problem is that its for ONE WAY only.

 

[goldenrose]

Good point Roy! :rollhappy::rollhappy::rollhappy: That good make a BIG difference!

 

[NYEric]

Hahaha, jokes on me. One of the requirements for the Enhanced Driver's License is a valid passport! If I had one of those I wouldn't need an EDL. I guess it's a scam to get money into the state coffers. If you have a passport the EDL is redundant [i.e. useless] The only difference is that you can get the EDL quicker and cheaper than a new passport.

 

[streetmorrisart]

That totally sucks. And, no, a passport is not cheap. Some levity (for others): I had to get a new one recently and paying for it HURT--psychologically, too! The post office employee helping us (after having no problem whatsoever getting a great shot of my husband) couldn't get a decent photo of me--this wasn't a vanity complaint on my end either! The red eye reduction wasn't working on me and it was taking my as-pale-as-they-come complexion and making me look positively swarthy. I got sent over to the CVS around the corner, tail between my legs, and told to bring things back for processing... Yada, yada, yada, I look really unhappy and appropriately pasty in my new passport.

 

[Grandma M]

WOW Eric.
You had me ready to renew my Driver License...until I read the other posts. Why would anyone need the special license if they already had a passport? Just another way for the state to steal more of my money. NO THANKS.

Marilyn

 

[NYEric]

I guess, if your passport needs to be renewed and you're traveling by land or sea to Mexico, Canada, or the Carribean Islands, it's a cheap quick alternative to waiting for the passport.

 

[Jon in SW Ohio]

I got my passport earlier this year and it was a positive experience. I wasn't in a hurry so I did the regular processing instead of the express to save a bunch of money. The expected wait time for regular was 6-8 weeks I think, and express was 3-5 weeks. I ended up getting it in the mail the same week I filled out the paperwork!!

I didn't realize you needed a passport to go to Mexico...guess I should have brought it with me since Mexico is only a hundred miles away or so and we were looking to go do some partying this week...

 

[goldenrose]

For those of us that don't have passports, I'm curious as to what the cost is?

 

[Jon in SW Ohio]

It was right around a hundred bucks for me after photos and postage.

 

[Candace]

Jon, before I had my passport I just used my CA drivers license to get in and out of Mexico. Of course, if I looked hispanic maybe that wouldn't have worked. Maybe the rules have changed?

 

[streetmorrisart]

It was about $220 for the both of us, though prices on photos vary. You need one to travel by air to Mexico or Canada right now, and will need it for land or sea by next June. Having lived in downtown Detroit for six years and gone across the Ambassador and Blue Water bridges on a whim with our drivers licenses, it's a surreal experience. No way am I missing out on my cyps and Calypso Orchids next spring though!

 

[NYEric]

A passport has been required to return to the USA from Mexico since 2005. The problem is that the renewal process is a few months long now! Unless you pay extra money to expidite the process, [state sanctioned graft!]

 

[streetmorrisart]

We didn't pay to expedite anything and it only took two weeks for our new passports to arrive. That's something at least.

 

[NYEric]

Yes that's reasonable.

 

[Corbin]

I am going to leave this one alone since what I think about having to have a passport to hop across the border to Mexico would not be printable.