For each commercial vessel or aircraft transporting any person to any seaport or airport of the United States from any place outside the United States, it shall be the duty of an appropriate official specified in subsection (d) to provide to any United States border officer (as defined in subsection (i)) at that port manifest information about each passenger, crew member, and other occupant transported on such vessel or aircraft prior to arrival at that port.

For each commercial vessel or aircraft taking passengers on board at any seaport or airport of the United States, who are destined to any place outside the United States, it shall be the duty of an appropriate official specified in subsection (d) to provide any United States border officer (as defined in subsection (i)) before departure from such port manifest information about each passenger, crew member, and other occupant to be transported.

The information to be provided with respect to each person listed on a manifest required to be provided under subsection (a) or (b) shall include—

(1) complete name;

(2) date of birth;

(3) citizenship;

(4) sex;

(5) passport number and country of issuance;

(6) country of residence;

(7) United States visa number, date, and place of issuance, where applicable;

(8) alien registration number, where applicable;

(9) United States address while in the United States; and

(10) such other information the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Treasury determines as being necessary for the identification of the persons transported and for the enforcement of the immigration laws and to protect safety and national security.

An appropriate official specified in this subsection is the master or commanding officer, or authorized agent, owner, or consignee, of the commercial vessel or aircraft concerned.

Not later than January 1, 2003, manifest information required to be provided under subsection (a) or (b) shall be transmitted electronically by the appropriate official specified in subsection (d) to an immigration officer.

No operator of any private or public carrier that is under a duty to provide manifest information under this section shall be granted clearance papers until the appropriate official specified in subsection (d) has complied with the requirements of this subsection, except that, in the case of commercial vessels or aircraft that the Attorney General determines are making regular trips to the United States, the Attorney General may, when expedient, arrange for the provision of manifest information of persons departing the United States at a later date.

If it shall appear to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that an appropriate official specified in subsection (d), any public or private carrier, or the agent of any transportation line, as the case may be, has refused or failed to provide manifest information required by subsection (a) or (b), or that the manifest information provided is not accurate and full based on information provided to the carrier, such official, carrier, or agent, as the case may be, shall pay to the Commissioner the sum of $1,000 for each person with respect to whom such accurate and full manifest information is not provided, or with respect to whom the manifest information is not prepared as prescribed by this section or by regulations issued pursuant thereto. No commercial vessel or aircraft shall be granted clearance pending determination of the question of the liability to the payment of such penalty, or while it remains unpaid, and no such penalty shall be remitted or refunded, except that clearance may be granted prior to the determination of such question upon the deposit with the Commissioner of a bond or undertaking approved by the Attorney General or a sum sufficient to cover such penalty.

The Attorney General may waive the requirements of subsection (a) or (b) upon such circumstances and conditions as the Attorney General may by regulation prescribe.

In this section, the term “United States border officer” means, with respect to a particular port of entry into the United States, any United States official who is performing duties at that port of entry.

The Attorney General may authorize immigration officers to record the following information regarding every resident person leaving the United States by way of the Canadian or Mexican borders for permanent residence in a foreign country: Names, age, and sex; whether married or single; calling or occupation; whether able to read or write; nationality; country of birth; country of which citizen or subject; race; last permanent residence in the United States; intended future permanent residence; and time and port of last arrival in the United States; and if a United States citizen or national, the facts on which claim to that status is based.

(June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title II, ch. 4, § 231, 66 Stat. 195; Pub. L. 97–116, § 18(g), Dec. 29, 1981, 95 Stat. 1620; Pub. L. 101–649, title V, § 543(a)(1), Nov. 29, 1990, 104 Stat. 5057; Pub. L. 102–232, title III, § 306(c)(4)(A), Dec. 12, 1991, 105 Stat. 1752; Pub. L. 104–208, div. C, title III, § 308(g)(1), Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–622; Pub. L. 107–77, title I, § 115, Nov. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 768; Pub. L. 107–173, title IV, § 402(a), May 14, 2002, 116 Stat. 557.)