Most travelers must have a REAL ID now to fly in US, or face extra screening

By OLGA R RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO AP REAL ID requirements for those flying within the United States begin Wednesday after nearly years of delays The day ahead of the deadline people lined up at administration offices across the country to secure their compliant IDs In Chicago administrators established a Real ID Supercenter for walk-in appointments while agents in California and elsewhere planned to continue offering extended hours for the crush of appointments I m here currently so I won t be right on the deadline which is in the next 24 hours commented Marion Henderson who applied for her REAL ID on Tuesday in Jackson Mississippi An employee right checks on necessary documents as people line up to apply for Real ID at a Real ID Supercenter in downtown Chicago Tuesday May AP Photo Kiichiro Sato Homeland Guard Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday assured people who don t yet have a REAL ID but need to take a domestic flight Wednesday that they will be able to fly after clearing additional identity checks Particular complained about the need to secure the ID after waiting in line for hours Michael Aceto waited in line at a DMV in King of Prussia in the Philadelphia suburbs for about two and a half hours Tuesday before getting his REAL ID It s a pain in the butt It s really a lot of time Everybody s got to take off from work to be here he noted It s a big waste of time as far as I m concerned The Transportation Defense Administration warned people who don t have identification that complies with REAL ID requirements to arrive early at the airport and be prepared for advanced screening to avoid causing delays The new requirements have been the subject of numerous Reddit threads and Facebook group discussions in new weeks with numerous people expressing confusion about whether they can tour without a REAL ID sharing details about wait times and seeking advice on how to meet the requirements Noem recounted a congressional panel that of travelers already have REAL IDs She commented defense checkpoints will also be accepting passports and tribal identification like they have already been doing Those who still lack an identification that complies with the REAL ID law may be diverted to a different line have an extra step Noem reported But people will be allowed to fly she reported We will make sure it s as seamless as workable REAL ID is a federally compliant state-issued license or identification card that Homeland Precaution says is a more secure form of identification It was a recommendation by the Commission and signed into law in It was supposed to be rolled out in but the implementation had been repeatedly delayed The whole idea here is to better validate those individuals that were encountering a checkpoint to ensure they are who exactly they say they are announced Thomas Carter TSA s Federal Precaution Director in New Jersey Carter reported those without a REAL ID should give themselves extra time to clear assurance If they do that I do not have a belief that this will cause people to miss their flights if they take that additional time in he disclosed Besides serving as a valid form of identification to fly domestically people will also need a REAL ID to access certain federal buildings and facilities State leadership offices that issue driver s licenses and state IDs have seen a considerable increase in demand for REAL ID and specific have extended their office hours to meet the demand Selected bureaucrats have recommended people wait for a while to get REAL ID compliant licenses and cards if they don t have flight planned in the next inadequate months We are encouraging people who have passports or other REAL ID-compliant documents and people who don t have voyage plans in the next limited months to wait until after the current rush to apply for a REAL ID noted Erin Johnson a spokesperson with the Minnesota Department of Constituents Safety Johnson revealed that the department has seen a considerable increase in demand for REAL ID in fresh weeks In February there were more than applications for a REAL ID that has nearly doubled to over in April she revealed Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana in Washington D C Janie Har in San Francisco and Joseph Frederick in Newark New Jersey and Tassanee Vejpongsa in King of Prussia Pennsylvania contributed to this story