Passports now required for more spring-breakers

A new passport law for U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean could cause problems for students leaving the country for spring break.\nThe new law, which started Jan. 23, requires all people traveling by air to any of the previously listed destinations to present a valid passport or Alien Registration Card. The law will change again Jan. 1, 2008, to include all people traveling by sea.\nIU's spring break begins Saturday, March 10.\nWith the law change occurring so close to spring break, there was the question of whether students traveling to popular locations such as Cancun or Cozumel, Mexico, would know about the law and be prepared.\nMany students at IU seem to already be prepared for the change.\n"I heard about the law (change) so I got my passport renewed," said Kalen Royse, a sophomore planning on spending her spring break in Cozumel. "Now I'm just waiting for it to come in the mail."\nWhile some students were not aware of the change, travel agencies like STA Travel are making sure their customers are aware of the change before they purchase tickets.\n"(The new law) affects a lot of spring-breakers, so it's one of the first things they get told about," said Nicole Janostak, branch manager of STA Travel, 430 E. Kirkwood Ave. "We also have signs on our desks that have pictures of passports so they have a reminder right in their face."\nJanostak said the agents explain the general regulations on how to get a passport to their customers, and now, since it is so close to spring break, how to expedite the process to get the passport in time for break.\n"For fees (and the fees vary), you can get a passport as quickly as within 48 hours," Janostak said. "There is even a passport office up in Chicago where, if someone gets all their forms together and is willing to spend the night in Chicago, they can get their passport within a day"