Enhanced Michigan driver's licenses designed for smooth Canadian border crossings will make travel between the U.S. and Canada more convenient after June 1. The cards can be read electronically and will speed up border crossings, customs workers say.

The state's new enhanced driver's license (EDL) became available to Michigan residents Tuesday, April 21, locally at the Secretary of State office in Sault Ste. Marie.

The EDL functions as both a driver's license and a cross-border travel document and meets new federal requirements that go into effect June 1. They will require people entering the United States by land or sea to have a passport, passport card, a trusted traveler program card (NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST), or the state EDL.

The Michigan EDL can also be used when returning to the U.S. by land or sea from Mexico, Bermuda, or the Caribbean.

Until June 1, American citizens need only present a governmentissued photograph identification card and a birth certificate or citizenship card.

Passports can be used now and after June 1 for land and sea border crossings as well as at airport entry points.

The new federal land and sea border entry requirements (Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative) are designed to strengthen security to be more comparable to the scrutiny received at airport entry points, but state political and business interests have been concerned that requiring passports could deter crossings for business or tourism because passports cost $100 and can take up to six weeks to process.

"The enhanced driver's license promotes the smooth flow of trade and tourism between our state and Canada and aids law enforcement in its efforts to make our borders more secure," said Terri Lynn Land, Michigan's secretary of state. "This is a common-sense solution we have been working for years to achieve for the people of Michigan."

Two-way trade between Michigan and Canada averages more than $1 billion a week, she said.

With an EDL, a Michigan resident approaching an American border station in a vehicle can simply hold up the card. Technology in the card allows it to be scanned from a distance. By the time travelers reach the station, security personnel will usually only need to make a quick visual check.

No personal information is transmitted from the card during this process.

The EDL cards cost $45 and enhanced state identification cards are $30. According to the Secretary of State, it will take two to three weeks to process the card.

The cards will also help improve the process of securing the U.S. border and help officials do their job more quickly, said Leroy Frazier, a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol representative from Sault Ste. Marie.

"This is speeding up that process," he said, "resulting in shorter wait times."

International Bridge Manager Phillip Becker said the bridge at Sault Ste. Marie is used by a high number of local residents on both sides of the border.

"We're a local bridge," he said. "We connect two communities."

The EDL has been promoted by the Detroit Regional Chamber since 2005, and President Richard Blous, Jr. believes such convenient border travel should be extended to all border states in the nation.

Enhanced licenses have been approved in Michigan, Washington, Vermont, and New York by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The federal government also issues a Passport Card, which is less expensive than a passport and, like the EDL, is good only for land and sea border crossings, not at airports.

Enhanced licenses are available to Michigan residents who also are U.S. citizens. Applicants need to present proof of a Social Security number and U.S. citizenship in addition to their driver's license.

EDLs are not required, and residents may continue to receive standard driver's licenses and state identification cards, if they choose.

Applying for a Michigan EDL will require travel to one of only 16 Secretary of State branch offices designated to issue them, with Sault Ste. Marie and Marquette the only such offices in the Upper Peninsula and Traverse City the only other northern Michigan office.

For more information on how to obtain an enhanced driver's license, visit www.Michigan.gov/sos. For more information on the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and new document requirements, visit www.getyouhome.gov.