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 governing body offices across the country to secure their compliant IDs In Chicago functionaries established a Real ID Supercenter for walk-in appointments while authorities in California and elsewhere planned to continue offering extended hours for the crush of appointments I m here in the modern day so I won t be right on the deadline which is the following day stated 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 Protection 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 Specific 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 disclosed It s a big waste of time as far as I m concerned The Transportation Assurance 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 several Reddit threads and Facebook group discussions in latest weeks with numerous people expressing confusion about whether they can progress without a REAL ID sharing details about wait times and seeking advice on how to meet the requirements Noem stated a congressional panel that of travelers already have REAL IDs She announced precaution 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 noted But people will be allowed to fly she revealed We will make sure it s as seamless as viable 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 explained Thomas Carter TSA s Federal Precaution Director in New Jersey Carter commented those without a REAL ID should give themselves extra time to clear precaution 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 reported 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 establishment offices that issue driver s licenses and state IDs have seen a key increase in demand for REAL ID and selected have extended their office hours to meet the demand Selected representatives 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 advance plans in the next minimal months to wait until after the current rush to apply for a REAL ID announced Erin Johnson a spokesperson with the Minnesota Department of Populace Safety Johnson announced that the department has seen a vital increase in demand for REAL ID in up-to-date weeks In February there were more than applications for a REAL ID that has nearly doubled to over in April she stated 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