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Checkered past? U.S. citizens with records of arrest or conviction need to be on guard in an era where crime data can be shared worldwide. The FBI's National Crime Information Center database is the main repository. "Anyone who has had any interaction with law enforcement and plans to travel internationally, even if they've traveled before, would be advised to make a request to NCIC and see if their file is accurate," counsels Edward Hasbrouck, author of Practical Nomad. For more info, browse to Fbibackgroundchecks.com/get-your-own-FBI-record.html, or write to FBI CJIS Division -- Record Request, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, West Virginia 26306.

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he number of Canadians barred by the U.S. when attempting to cross the border has increased some 25 percent this year, to 30,000 from January to June. The reason is simply faster access by US border authorities to Canada's RCMP criminal records database. Almost everyone with an arrest or conviction after 1970 now gets barred by U.S. Customs, even people who've crossed dozens of times before. And forget about innocent until guilty -- simply having been arrested is enough. But despite media reports to the contrary, it's not true that Canadians who've received pardons -- and thus had their RCMP records erased -- are getting banned by the U.S., says Ian Levine of Pardons Canada ( Pardons.org; 416-929-6011). But it's vital to get your pardon before you try to cross the border. Once the U.S. knows of your past, no subsequent change to the RCMP database helps.

HIVphobia at the border. With tuberculosis, avian flu, and SARS looming threats, increased surveillance of who travels is justified partly by reference to public health. The justification is dubious when it comes HIV, but the U.S. still generally bars non-citizens with HIV from entering the country, at least without special exemption. (An easing of these restrictions promised by Bush on World AIDS Day has not yet materialized. In August, however, Rep. Barbara Lee [D-California] introduced legislation in Congress that would can the ban.) HIVers have long found ways to skirt the restrictions -- for instance, by not carrying meds on their person. But be careful as well about letting references to illness creep into your travel reservation record, which is wide open to government snooping.

Stay on top of travel privacy issues. Good resources include the Identity Project (Papersplease.org), Edward Hasbrouck's blog (Hasbrouck.org), the American Civil Liberties Union (Aclu.org), Electronic Frontier Foundation (Eff.org), and the Center for Democracy and Technology (Cdt.org).

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See also:

Flying Air Anonymous
Can travelers leave the burden of identity on the ground?

Border Security at the Peace Bridge
Are your papers in order?

Policing Borders
In an era of barbed-wire frontiers, no-fly lists, and chipped passports, can we keep travel gay?

Author Profile:  Bill Andriette
Bill Andriette is features editor of The Guide
Email:	theguide@guidemag.com