| Section 231 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) sets forth the requirements for commercial ships and aircraft to keep records of its passengers. The term "ship" in this article is intended to cover any type or size of sea-worthy vessel. A designated person on each transportation craft must maintain lists with information on each passenger, crew member, or other category of occupant who is transported on a ship or aircraft. The designated list-keeper may be the craft's master or commanding officer, authorized agent, or owner, for example. The information must be given to a United States border official both when the ship or aircraft is arriving at a U.S. port of entry and when it is departing from a U.S. port. As of January 1, 2003, the provision of such information must be transmitted electronically from the designated list-keeper to the U.S. border official.
The information that the ship or aircraft must give a U.S. border official is called a "manifest." The manifest must include specific information about each passenger, including:
- name
- date of birth
- citizenship
- sex
- passport number and country of issuance
- country of residence
- U.S. visa number, if applicable
- alien registration number, if applicable
- address while in the United States
- any other information deemed necessary by the Attorney General in consultation with the Secretaries of State and the Treasury
In addition, if a passenger or other person is permanently leaving the United States by way of a Mexican or Canadian border for a foreign country, additional information may be required. This includes the person's marital status, occupation, literacy level, nationality, country of birth, last permanent residence in the United States, intended future residence, details regarding his or her arrival in the United States, and details regarding the person's U.S. citizenship or nationality, if applicable.
The provision of a craft's manifest is a prerequisite to the craft being granted clearance papers for arrival or departure. The U.S. Attorney General may grant certain carriers an exception to this rule if they are making regular trips to the United States. In such a case, the carrier may provide manifest information on departing passengers only at a later date. Arriving passenger information must still be presented before clearance is granted.
If any passenger carrier fails to comply with the manifest requirements, penalties may be imposed. A failure to comply includes complete failure to provide the required information in its entirety as well as a failure to supply complete information. The penalty is a fine of $1,000 for each person, passenger or crewman for whom complete and accurate information was not provided. In addition, a carrier may be grounded until payment of such fine is received, or a bond may be required to assure such payment.
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