katz said:
Thanks for a quick response, guys (gals?)!
Yup, I'll be driving -- a Hertz rental car (any issues with rentals?). Not sure how the rental registration would fit, but we'll see.
Re: expired passport -- pardon me for being a pest, but... Why not taking it with me? I wouldn't show it unless asked for it, of course...
Only Canadian citizens and residents are restricted from driving a U.S. rental car into Canada. As a U.S. resident, this restriction does not apply to you. However, you MUST show the car rental agreement /lease, and a valid/unexpired U.S. driver's licence. Don't forget to buy the car rental's insurance.
At this time, until December 2007, U.S. citizens and residents are not required to show their passports when crossing the border(s) by land - Passport requirement by Land is tentatively set for January 2008. Your passport is an added proof of your citizenship and your visa stamp, but don't forget that all this information is already on your "green card." Your "green card" shows your citizenship as well as a validity date.
So, if the current law does not require you to show a passport, you don't even need to have an expired one on you, even if your intention is to show it to them upon request, because
they will request for your passport - it's standard procedure. But if you don't have it on you,
the current law requires that you can still show your green card and your valid state driver's license /identification card. They cannot hold it against you for not having a passport - the law does not say so yet; the law will say so in January 2008, by which time everybody crossing land borders is required to show a passport for land travel.
If you happen to have a passport on you while crossing the border, then that passport must be unexpired. This is so, because when you have a combination of travel documents on you, say, a valid green card and a valid U.S. driver's license plus a passport, the passport supercedes those other documents. And, if the passport is expired, border personnel can always exercise their discretion in using the expired passport as grounds for not letting you travel outside of the U.S., or into Canada.
At the same time,
they can let you cross with the expired passport, and
make a notation of it in the database, BUT when re-entering the U.S. after your 1 day trip to Canada, you might then be required to show a valid and unexpired passport in order to re-enter the U.S. since you showed a passport when leaving the U.S.. And, I am sure you will not have a valid /unexpired passport within a day.
Both Canada and the U.S., currently do not require a passport for land travel.
You are only going to Canada for 1 day.
Save yourself any potential problems and from being in a state of limbo outside of the U.S until you get a new passport from your country. In your own best interest, leave the passport at home. And, upon your return to the U.S., work on getting a valid passport because
come January 2008, then you're going to need it.
