I'm planning on traveling to Chihuahua, Mexico for 1 week, but I am having a bit of a dilemma, according to

The U.S department of state if I travel by plane after January 23, 2007 I will need a passport, to leave and return, if by plane both leaving and coming. They also state if I come in by land through any border from Mexico to the States the requirement is not until January 1, 2008.

I guess I have 2 options, one would be to leave before Jan 23 by plane and back by land. The second is to get a passport in Ciudad Juarez while there, the only problem is it takes 1 week for them to issue it after your walk in appointment.

My question is will I have to wait for the passport if I want to travel back by plane from Mexico or will they provide me with a temporary document to come back in by air?

I know this is lots of information but in concerns us all.

It's probable that the airline won't let you board for your flight to Mexico without a passport, since your return flight would be after the deadline. I would go to your local passport office and see if you can pay the big bucks for the rush application, or I would go by land both ways.

This has been coming for a long time, I had my girlfriend get her passport about this time last year just for this reason, so that we could go to Mexico on short notice without worrying.