For those taking their kids with them.

[Scenic]

For the first time in all the times I have crossed the border with MY son I was asked if I had a letter from his mother giving me permission to take him out of the country. I have known that when we take other kids with us we have to have a letter from the parents but I was unaware that I needed one for my own son. This was not something I had ever been asked for before.

For those of you who are taking your kids up there even though you are married but only one parent is accompanying the child you may be required to have a letter from the other parent giving them consent for you to take your own child out of the country.

According to customs the reason for this is that they encounter custody battles where one parent will take the child into another country to prevent the other parent from having legal access to them.

One other thing to keep in mind is to have a birth certificate AND another form of ID for the child. My son handed her the birth certificate and she had to be convinced that it was really his. Granted my son does not look his age at all but he still had to produce another form of ID before she would accept his birth certificate. We are applying for his passport just to make crossing easier for him.

[Wild Thing]

We cross 15-18 times each year and so far haven't had any problems.

But tell me, what is a second ID for a kid? And where do you get one? I've never heard of such a thing. All we have is the birth certificates.

I have to say that, so far this year, the crossings are the fastest since 9/11. Both sides are well staffed and they aren't taking undue time with silly questions. Of course, now we'll get searched on Thursday going up!

[Scenic]

First let me clarify why I feel she did not really believe his birth certificate. My son is 6’1” tall and 320. He shaves daily and just does not look like he is 14 years old. He passes easy for 17-18-19 all the time. So I do understand her questioning his birth certificate. Trust me we don’t even attempt to go to restaurants that offer reduced rates for kids under 15 either… .

As for a second ID he showed her a membership card with his name on it that he had in his wallet and that was good enough. This is the reason we are going to just get him a passport with his picture on it.

The entire process did not take all that long and it was not personal. She even joked with him when she told him she felt that he looked like he could take care of himself. She was just doing her job.

[BobT]

What I haven't understood is why a birth certificate is adequate. First, it is as old as the person and second, it doesn't have a recent photo for comparison. The child or person can be anybody and claim they are the person represented by the birth certificate until fingerprints are tested.

Bob

[Wild Thing]

What would you suggest that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and that parents could access easily if they want to head up to my cabin this weekendwith their kids? At some point, if there are no warrants out, the authorities are just going to have to trust people. They already have too much information for my book.

[puckey]

we have used the kids year book from school before, it has worked for the border crossing, and we use it for softball tournys in the summer too.

[STMA_I_HUNTER]

Plain & simple, have a letter(notarized?) from the parent not present and a certified birth certificate. That is all that is needed. Just crossed the 21st and sailed right through for all 3 car loads with kids.