Washington: International air and ocean carriers must soon provide complete lists of passengers on their planes or vessels arriving in or departing from the U.S.
The U.S. Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) announced on Jan. 2 that as part of efforts to enhance public safety and national security, all commercial carriers would have to submit detailed passenger manifests to the agency electronically before an aircraft or vessel arrives in or departs from the U.S. The program, mandated by Congress in the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002, is being implemented from this year.
The legislation was passed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, when the authorities recognized that the terrorists had exploited immigration laws to enter the country without hindrance.
Section 402 of the Act requires the submission of advanced passenger information on all temporary foreign visitors.
This includes complete name; date of birth; citizenship; sex; passport number and country of issuance; country of residence; U.S. visa number, date and place of issuance (where applicable); alien registration number (where applicable); address while in the U.S.; and such other information that the attorney general, in consultation with the secretary of state and the secretary of treasury, determines as being necessary.
The advance submission requirement will help INS verify the identities of individuals being transported, while ensuring the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.
