Genius Advice

A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international treaty organization to facilitate the movement of individuals or small groups of persons across international boundaries. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the bearer or bearers may return to the issuing country and are issued in booklet form to allow other governments to place visas as well as entry and exit stamps in them. One of the most common travel documents is a passport, which usually identifies the bearer as a citizen or national of the issuing country. Currently international travel documents are issued under the United Nations Convention Travel Document (UNCTD).
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has also adopted the new Travel Document Security Programme which seeks to "aim to comply fully with the minimum security standards for the handling and issuance of passports and other travel documents elaborated by ICAO"
A United States travel document may also be used as a:
•    Re-entry Permit - A re-entry permit allows a permanent resident or conditional resident to apply for admission to the United States upon return from abroad during the permit's validity, without having to obtain a returning Resident Visa from a U.S. embassy or consulate.
•    Refugee Travel Document - A refugee travel document is issued to a person classified as a refugee or asylee, or to a permanent resident who obtained such status as a result of being a refugee or asylee in the United States. Persons who hold such status must have a refugee travel document to return to the United States after temporary travel abroad unless he or she is in possession of a valid Advance Parole Document. A refugee travel document is issued by the CIS to implement Article 28 of the United Nations Convention of July 28, 1951.
•    Advance Parole Document - An advance parole document is issued solely to authorize the temporary parole of a person into the United States. The document may be accepted by a transportation company in lieu of a visa as an authorization for the holder to travel to the United States. An advance parole document is not issued to serve in place of any required passport. A permanent resident whose travel is on the order of the United States government, other than an exclusion, deportation, removal or rescission order.
Carry Identification
You will need photo id while traveling when:

o    Boarding planes

o    Passing through customs and immigration

o    Cashing traveller’s checks

o    Renting cars

o    In case of difficulty with authorities

You may need photo id while travelling when:

o    Boarding some trains or ferries

o    Checking in to some hostels and most hotels

o    Using a debit or credit card

Photo id that works for travel:

• Passport -- universal id

• Your driver's license or an international driver's license (be aware that the minute you leave the US, your driver's license *may* become meaningless as id, except at car rental agencies)

Get a Passport
Although you can currently use a birth certificate and driver's license as id to enter Mexico and Canada by land (need a passport if flying back to the US -- learn more), you should get a passport anyway. Passports are $97 through a US post office if you're over 16 ($70 otherwise) and are valid for ten years, and function as universal id. You can also use a passport to meet INS employment requirements in the US.
• How to get your first passport
• How to get a passport without a birth certificate
• Do I need a passport for travel to Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean?
• News: "Passport rule changes proposed for minors"
• All current passport rules and news
What's Up With Visas?
A visa is an endorsement stamped on your passport by foreign customs officials that allows you to visit that country. You get a visa from the country's embassy or consulate (check consular sheets for embassy locations and, in some cases, websites). "Visit", as used above, means the reason for entry. In your case, it may be tourism or work (volunteering and studying abroad are usually considered tourism). Many, many types of visas exist based on country and type and length of visit.
Few countries require tourism visas. Among them *may* be Africa, Australia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, Japan, Russia and Turkey (this can change at any time).
Work visas are a different story -- you will probably need one if you want to work during your student travel.
• Learn about tourist visas and how to get one
• Learn about international work visas and how to get one
Do I Need Immunization Records for Travel?
Whether or not you need travel immunizations depends in part on where you will be travelling. Not every country is going to require that you already have shots before you travel to that country -- your concern will be more whether you *want* immunizations for travel. If you get travel shots, you'll get an International Health Certificate to prove it, and you should carry that while travelling. Remember to start a shots series early enough to finish the series before travelling.
• Learn all about travel immunizations
International Driver's License
Before you decide to get an international's driver's license or permit, whether to use as id or to rent a car, bear in mind that your US driver's license will probably work for renting a car or scooter almost anywhere.
In some countries, you may rather get a local government-issued driver's license if you're going to be there for a few months or more -- ask how to get one at the local American embassy. To get a local driver's license abroad, you may need:
• Valid passport
• Valid American driver's license
• Valid non-immigrant visa if required in that country
• Valid work visa if applicable
Auto club AAA is licensed by the US guv to provide you with an international driving permit.
• Get international driver's permit guv info
• Get an international driving permit direct from AAA
• About saving money with AAA
Email Yourself Important Travel Documents
Email yourself important travel document copies. If you lose your passport, visa, airline tickets, credit / debit cards or driver's license, you can download copies while you're travelling.
• Learn how to scan, email yourself, and access travel documents
Where to Keep Your Travel Documents
Leave copies of all your travel documents with someone whom you can contact easily, like a parent, and email copies to yourself -- you've then got two ways to access copies if you lose anything. Stash copies in your guidebook or travel journal, too. Make sure that you have the documents to which you need access, like your passport and eticket / itinerary, together at the right time.
I keep travel life simple by using a passport holder in airports and stashing it in a backpack pocket otherwise. I keep my cash separate -- usually in a zipped pants, shirt or vest pocket which I'm wearing
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