IF you ever intend to travel to the US again, make sure you have a machine-readable passport.

That was the stark warning coming from the US Consulate this week as all residents were reminded of a rule change which takes effect in just three months.

Consul Margaret Pride, whose responsibilities include passport and visa matters, said this week that the days of travelling on a driving licence or a birth certificate were over.

It does not matter whether families have air tickets, hotels, rental cars and excursions booked ? if they arrive at the airport without passports from January 8, 2007 onwards, US Immigration authorities will not allow them to board the plane.

"My biggest challenge over the next few months will be getting the word out on the new passport regulation," Ms Pride, who arrived at the US Consulate two months ago, said.

"Everyone travelling from Bermuda will need machine-readable passports if they are entering the United States by air or by sea. American citizens will need them too."

The only exceptions to be considered would be in the case of medical emergency airlifts, she added.

The rules are also set for a major change on visa applications, for those who need them.

"We will stop taking hand-written application forms from October 15 by order of the State Department," Ms Pride said. "From then, everyone who needs a visa to enter the US will have to apply online."

Visa applicants should go through the US Consulate web site at .

Ms Pride is a new face at the Consulate, having arrived for a three-year stint here with her husband and her two-year-old daughter. Her previous overseas postings have included Ukraine, New Zealand and Russia.

She said she had seen dramatic changes in Russia, since she went there as a student in 1987, when the Soviet Union was still intact. But during her term in St. Petersburg, she said it was apparent that many people were in a hurry to get rich and were not going to let the laws of the land get in their way.

"It's a breath of fresh air coming to a country where things are done by the rule of law," Ms Pride said.

State Department staff have some say over where they are posted but their options are limited, Ms Pride added.

"They provide us with a list of possible assignments when our transfer dates are coming up," she said. "I feel very lucky to have this position in Bermuda. If (Secretary of State) Condoleezza Rice decided I was needed in Baghdad or Kabul, then she could pull me out, but I should be here for three years."