[phil21]

> As little as a birth certificate?

Lost in translation I think. You could cross the border to Canada with just your state issued ID/drivers license as well back then.

What OP is saying is that it was even more lax than that. OP brought a piece of paper that is trivially forged, no photo on it, that basically just said in writing who they were with no additional ID needed.

[OJFord]

> > As little as a birth certificate?

> Lost in translation I think.

Yeah, perhaps. My surprise I suppose is because to me a birth certificate is something somewhat safely tucked away somewhere, extremely rarely required; frankly I don't know how much of a problem it would be to lose and try to replace (maybe not replacing it but fraud would be your greater concern?) but certainly not something generally carried around with you here. (At least, I'd be surprised to learn that's just me?)

[yakubin]

Where do birth certificates contain photos? That… doesn’t sound very practical. (Imagining an elderly person handing in their photo as a toddler to border control.)