By Bill Stevenson
Omak Chronicle staff

     OROVILLE, WA - Oct. 16, 2001 - Travelers crossing the Canadian border need photo identification and may be asked extra questions since the terrorist attacks on the United States Sept. 11.
     "People may be asked a few more questions, but it is not to delay people crossing the border," said Kim Weissman, a U.S. Department of Immigration and Naturalization public information officer.
     Since terrorists attacked New York and Washington, D.C., immigration elevated the threat level from three, minimal inspections, to level one, the highest level of scrutiny. Weissman said people will be asked to identify themselves every time they cross the border.
     "We're strongly advising that people have a photo identification," she said.
     The best identification is a passport or certified copy of a birth certificate, said Weismann. A driver's license may be used as identification but it may trigger a few additional questions.
     If a person is traveling from outside of the western hemisphere to the United States, a passport is needed to obtain a visa for entry into the country. Visas are obtained from the U.S Consular Office in visitors' home countries.
      Americans traveling to Canada or Canadians traveling to the United States do not need visas to cross the border, according to Weismann. Neither needs to show a passport when crossing either.
     INS screens all people coming into the United State to determine if they qualify for admission and if so, under what status. Immigration officials are stationed at major airports with international flights, passenger shipping terminals and ports of entry.
     Immigration officials "are charged with intercepting terrorists, alien and narcotic smugglers, impostors, false claims to U.S. citizenship, criminals and undocumented aliens seeking admission," states the INS Web site.
     Between ports of entry, such as Oroville and Kettle Falls in Ferry County, the U.S. Border Patrol monitors the border to detect and intercept smuggling and illegal entry into the United States. The Border Patrol is a branch of INS.