My sister and I are sending our mother on a trip to Mexico as a birthday present. My mother does not have a passport. My sister believes she will not want to get one for this one time trip. I, on the other hand, believe that she actually will want to get one simply because just having it will make her feel more worldly. We will be telling our mother about the trip Easter weekend. The trip is scheduled for mid-May, so she will have ample time to get one if she chooses.
However, let us assume my sister is correct and our mom wants to risk traveling without a passport. I looked on the US State Department web site for some info. It says you can get by with just your birth certificate and a valid picture ID. My sister brought up an interesting question: What do married women do in these situations when the name on the birth certificate does not match the rest of their IDs? (Of course, the situation could apply to anyone who’s had a legal name change.) Is it enough to have the birth dates on the birth certificate and photo ID match? Or do you need some sort of linking document, such as a marriage license?
Back to my mother—yes, I will point out the cost of the passport is well worth avoiding the potential hassle that may be caused by not having a passport. And her husband is quite protective of her, so I’m sure he will insist she get one. Regardless, I’m still curious about the answers to my questions.
My wife’s Mexican passport has her maiden name, and her I-94 has her American-style married name, and the only thing that matches is her birthdate. We’ve never had problems going either way across the border.
Now, though, I’m going to be worried, 'cos I’d not thought about it before!
While a passport may not be officially required, the airlines sure seemed interested in seeing one. USAir called me before I left to make sure I brought one, and they didn’t say anything about alternatives. So you may check with your carrier.
On the whole, I’d strongly recommend the passport. Everyone’s life gets a lot easier.
Thanks, Balthisar. Didn’t mean to plant any seeds of uncertainity in your mind. But if your wife already has a passport, then I believe it’s not an issue for you. Passports work as a single form of ID, so they don’t need to match with anything else (to my knowledge). So I don’t belive you and she have to worry about anything. But then I don’t know what an I-94 is, so don’t go by me. Besides, I’m the ignorant one asking the questions in the first place. In my mother’s case, if she doesn’t get a passport, I’m wondering about how the other two required documents (birth certificate and DL) need to match up.
To All: Again, I do plan to stress that she get a passport. But whether or not she should get one is not my question. My question, based on the assumption that she chooses not to get a passport, is “Does someone need an additional document if the names on the birth certificate and DL no not match?”
You did not mention her mode of transport. Airlines want to see passports for trips into Canada and Mexico even though they are not required if you are driving.
So if she is flying get a passport.
Driving you can go either way. While a passport can be a bit of a pain to aquire, it is the single best ID document available. It proves who you are, and that you are a citizen.
No she does not need a “cross-document.” My wife and I travel to Mex. often, and until last year she did not have a passport. Her birth cert. has a different name than her license, but never caused a hassle.
Of course now that she has her passport she really does feel like a world traveller, and we used that as an excuse to go to Costa Rica and Panama.
As an aside; I don’t know your location, but in California it took my wife about 6 weeks to get a passport, you guys are playing it close.
Not really that close. Passports can be rush ordered, or in an extreme case gotten the same day. The cost and hassle factor goes up, but it can be done.
I got my passport just to fly to Toronto (from the US) last year and it only took three weeks. I’m in Minnesota. My mother is in Illinois.
Thanks, Rick. Good point. They (my sister is going with her) are flying down to Puerto Vallarta and staying for a week. Which is quite different from the weekend jaunt in Tijuana.
I will point out your info (I’ll look on the AA sight for their expections) and tell my mother she does need one.
Rick
I live in a rural area and my wife’s application was mailed to San Fran, one of the busiest passport offices in US. In this era of “homeland security” getting an expedited passport may be a hassle, Toast’s mom is in Illinois, wouldn’t that make the office Chicago? Probably pretty busy. YMMV Toast
We fly Mexicana and all they want is some legit ID.
Went to Puerta Vallarta in 2003, going back again Jan. next year. Your mom will have a great time. Spectacular place. Unbelievable food. Stay as close to Old Puerta Vallarta as you can, south of the river if possible.
We flew on a charter airline flight to Cozumel last summer. There were 2 lines, one for passports and one for birth certificates. My wife had no problem getting there or coming back.
Birth certificate and DL are all you need to visit Mexico. If you want to get a passport, take your airline ticket to the passport office. They´ll give you a temporary (1 year) one that you can then trade in for a ten year version for no extra cost. Apparently there´s a new passport being issued with a lot of anti-forgery stuff built into it, so it´s taking six weeks or so to get the permanent passport delivered.
