A good number of us, about 20 or so students were getting ready to experience the year of our lives - Junior year study abroad through the University of California. All of us Californians were headed out to spend one year at various universities in the United Kingdom (Great Britain). We arrived into Heathrow (London Airport) customs. One student from UC Berkeley was boasting about his cute baby photo in his passport. He did not realize until that moment that his passport had expired more than 10 years ago! Virgin Atlantic in San Francisco had failed to examine his documents. In the end, Virgin Atlantic was fined, and he had to travel across the country to get interviewed at the U.S. Embassy for new documents. He was lucky because in a post- 9-11 world, he would have had to board the same flight back to the U.S. or worse!
Don't let this happen to you. Make sure you get the most current travel information and update documents as needed. In July 2009, the U.S. State department is requiring all U.S. citizens entering the country by land or sea to have a U.S. Passport Card. Check out the state department website for more details.
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