Are your papers in order? (Corrected)

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on August 27th, 2006

Attention all American comics, comedy fans, industry types who might want to attend the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal next year, and who might wanna get there by boat or plane: You might want to renew/obtain your passport because, by January 8 of 2007, passports will be required for…

… all air and sea travel to or from Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.

And, for walking and biking and driving, you have until January 1 of 2008 to get your passport. The restrictions are slowly tightening.

It takes “about six weeks” to get one. First-timers must initiate the process in person; renewals can be done by mail. It costs $97. You can toss another $60 on the heap and expedite the process. We’re not sure, but we believe that only renewals– not first-timers– can be expedited. And we’re also not sure, but we believe that the expedited process still takes a week or two. Go here for answers. (The Male and Female Halves of the Staff have striking new ‘ports– the ones with the groovy holograms and all, so we’re good for a few more years. We’ve had up-to-date travel skins since a trip down under in 1991.)

There are only about 300 days until Just For Laughs starts up again. Considering that it takes about 40 or 50 days to obtain a passport (and considering that time can sometimes gets away from us once in a while), it might be a good idea to hop on this matter aggressively. Also consider that, since 15 or 20 million Americans will probably apply for passports in the next 10 months or so, that six-week figure might puff out to a hideously protracted eight or nine weeks. Anyone entertaining notions of passing a New Faces audition should quietly get his papers in order, as the Festival organizers have a habit of notifying the lucky winners with short, short notice (so short, in fact, that even an expedited renewal would not make it under the wire).

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