Caribbean Passport Rule Postponed

The US government postponed the Dec. 31 deadline that would have required all US citizens returning from the Caribbean to show a valid passport.  No new date has been set.  However, Americans returning to the US by air or sea from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America and Bermuda will have to show a passport as of Dec. 31, 2006--about 15 months from now.  And a year after that deadline, Americans entering the US from those countries and regions will also have to display a passport.  Increasingly, it's becoming a good idea for US citizens to carry a passport whenever leaving the country.