Change in U.S. Border Crossing Procedures Effective on Jan. 31, 2008 January 23, 2008 Piblication date. By Claudia Escalante A. Beginning January 31, 2008, the United States will end the practice of accepting oral declarations of citizenship at the border for land and sea entry into the U.S. and will begin requiring more formal documentation to validate citizenship of those entering the U.S. You can learn more about the new requirements by clicking the following links. http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/crossingborders/ (English) http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/ready_set_go/land_travel/chnge_in_proced_span.xml (Spanish)