USDA gives Santa's reindeer permit to enter U.S.

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen.

Well, now that they have been granted a permit by the Department of Agriculture, the United States will actually let them in.

The permit, which the USDA wrote about in a tongue-in-cheek way on their website, allows the reindeer (which include one with "Rednose syndrome") to legally enter the U.S. between 6 p.m. on Dec. 24 and 6 a.m. on Dec. 25 through or over any northern border port.

Though the USDA has waived the applicable disease testing requirements and decided not to charge the normal application fees in the spirit of helping Santa during his busiest day of the year, there are some conditions.

Namely, the reindeer must be certified as never having eaten anything other than hay, sugar plums and gingerbread (the hottest diet for 2016), be individually identified with microchips and respond to their given names.

And for those of you concerned about sanitation, port personnel will also clean and disinfect the runners and underside of the sleigh as Santa and his crew cross the border, the USDA said.