Other Important Documents required for travel

All U.S. citizens wanting to travel abroad have to have a valid passport and/or a visa depending upon country-specific requirements or agreements. In addition different documents are required for different situations, the most common of which are given below:

  • Non-US citizens require a Travel Document for returning to US after travelling abroad. This can be obtained through form I-131.
  • An unsigned photo(until asked to), US Passport application form DS-11
  • Identity and Citizenship proof
  • Two passport photos
  • Passport application fee
  • Social Security Number


Under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative US citizens traveling to Canada require to present either a WHTI-compliant document, or a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, plus proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate as of Jan31 2008.

Other Accepted Travel Documents: SENTRI, NEXUS, FAST and the U.S. Coast Guard Mariner Document. Members of the U.S. Armed Forces on active duty traveling on orders are exempt from the passport requirement.