Canadian man uses iPad to enter US

I will admit that I am not an avid smartphone user, I have a Blackberry Pearl and love it for the form factor and the fact I can make calls.  Aside from emails and text messages I use it for its intended purpose. a phone.

With that said I was surprised to see people in the SFO airport using their iPhones to validate their boarding passes making the whole process truly paperless.  The same sort of thing has happened with a Canadian man who was able to enter the US with a digital copy of his Passport and valid driver's license.

Martin Reisch said Tuesday a slightly annoyed U.S. border officer let him cross into the United States from Quebec after he presented a scanned copy of his passport on his Apple iPad. Reisch was a half hour from the border when he decided to try to gain entry rather than turn back and make a two-hour trek back home to Montreal to fetch his passport.

He told the officer he was heading to the U.S. to drop off Christmas gifts for his friend's kids. He said that true story, the scanned passport and his driver's license helped him get through last week.

He said the officer seemed mildly annoyed when he handed him the iPad.

Of course a story like this wouldn't be something that border patrol would report so who do we have to blame for the story?  Yep you guessed it 

Cannot say I agree with allowing people to enter with a digital scan of their Passport but I do support digital versions of passports provided they can lock them down to prevent tampering, theft and tracking.

Related Web URL: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/03/4160295/canadian-...