[Jen_in_OH]

Hi - It's off topic, but has anyone recently taken children out of USA via car to go to Canada? Did they need a passport?

AAA told me that everyone even kids need a passport. The US government website regarding travel to Canada makes it look like kids under 16 just need a birth certificate and proof of citizenship. We "re-adopted" them in USA so I am hoping to NOT bring any official Russian documents with me, but maybe that is a bad idea??

Thoughts? We were planning to see the Falls later this month.

[Max'smom]

You will need proof of citizenship to reenter the US - either passport or US birth certificate plus adoption decree plus Certificate of citizenship. But beware, recently some people have found that US border personnel assume that all persons should have a passport (e.g., they are not reading the State department's guidelines). If you expedite, you apparently can get a passport in around a week.

[votemom]

my friends are going tomorrow. they don't have passports, so they had to get a special sticker for their driver's licenses. i'm not sure what it is called. it cost $40 i think. and they have to show their childrens' birth certificates.

the best thing, in the long run, is to just bite the bullet and apply for passports for everyone.

[Max'smom]

Remember - the birth certificate will work to establish citizenship for kids born in the USA but not internationally adopted kids. I have heard people say that their adopted kids get scrutinized every time they cross the border - despite the fact that the who family has US passports.

[beckyww]

The passport is the ultimate in identity establishment. I breathed a sigh of relief when Julia's arrived, and we had to have them for Mexico in 2008 and 2009.

See this blog from 2007 that explains my passport phobia - scroll down a bit -
This Reminds Me » Blog Archive » The Woodworth Hillbillios

Passports are a good investment.

Becky
This Reminds Me

[skiboo]

We go back and forth between Canada several times per year and have yet to use a US Passport with DS -- we use his NJ Birth Certificate from the readoption and his Certificate of Citizenship. However, having said this, we are finally getting him a US Passport before our next trip. It was just never a priority before now as the birth certificate and citizenship certificate were adequate.

We always get scrutinized no matter what as I have a Cdn Passport with Green Card, DH has a US Passport with a bunch of Russian visas (my passport has been renewed since Russia travel so I do not have them) and then we have a child with an NJ birth certificate that states born in Russia. Travel is never easy with our little mini UN.