Identification While Traveling

Recently I took a trip to Las Vegas. After checking in at the SeaTac Airport and checking my bag, I made a stop in the ladies room, before heading to the security lines. Somehow, between the restroom and security, my driver’s license disappeared. I looked everywhere, including the lost and found, and it didn’t turn up anywhere!

It’s annoying and stressful to lose a driver’s license anytime, but especially when traveling! To my surprise, I was still able to get through security and board the plane. This is after the security agent and her manager looked through all my credit cards, insurance cards and membership cards in my wallet. However, I think the reason why I was able to board was because I was traveling with my husband, who verified me, and I also had a (very old) expired driver’s license in my wallet.

Luckily I was just traveling domestically. Had this been an international flight, I’m sure the outcome would have been quite different. Security is (obviously) a lot stricter for international travel. These are a few suggestions I would make for U.S. citizens traveling internationally:

• Make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months beyond your travel dates.
• Make at least 2 copies of your passport. Take one with you, but keep it in a separate place from the original, and leave one copy with someone at home who could fax it to you if necessary.
• Never carry your passport in your pocket.
• Children, including infants, are also required to have a valid passport to re-enter the U.S.
• Check on an visa requirents for the country you are traveling to, and make sure to apply for any applicable visa's well in advance.
  

Contact a Professional Travel Agent to get started booking your next international trip!