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It was about six months ago when the secretary of state’s office in Michigan started accepting applications for enhanced licenses.
Since that time, they report residents have requested more than 80,000 of the high-tech cards.
So what’s all of the excitement about?
Michigan residents who are U.S. Citizens won’t be required to have a passport.
The enhanced licenses and personal identification cards let people re-enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and 17 Caribbean nations.
The new card can be used for land and sea border crossing and is in compliance with stricter government regulations that took effect on June1.
The secretary of state’s office explained that an enhanced license costs $45 new and $38 to renew while an enhanced ID card costs $30. A regular license costs $25 new and $18 to renew while a regular ID card costs $10.
Embedded with a microchip, the enhanced license is attached to a wire antenna that transmits a unique identifier when detected by an electromagnetic reader.
The paper-thin configuration is known as a radio frequency identification, or RFID, tag. The tags were added to U.S. passports in 2006.
A Detroit-based spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Ron Smith said as more drivers are issued the enhanced licenses, traffic will move more quickly through border crossings.
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