(Washington, DC, December 13, 2006) — Delegate to Congress Donna M. Christensen today thanked the U.S. State Department for posting clearly on their website that travel by U.S. citizens to and from the territories does not require a passport.  Delegate Christensen wrote to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Bergner asking them to prominently post instructions on travel to U.S. territories so that it would not be confused with travel to non-U.S. Caribbean destinations.

“I am pleased that our requests were met with a prompt response,” the Delegate said.  In addition to information on the territories being included in the Western Hemisphere’s Travel Initiative Fact Sheet, it is written in bold on the website on New Requirements for Travelers.  It reads:

The passport requirement does NOT apply to U.S. citizens traveling to or returning directly from a U.S. territory.  U.S. citizens returning directly from  a U.S. territory are not considered to have left the United States and do not need to present a passport.  U.S. territories include the following: Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

“I hope this information will assist travelers to the territory,” the Delegate said.