How does USCIS keep track of people leaving the country?

[Operator 1,925]

USCIS requires flight manifests for international departures and arrivals. These manifests are cross referenced against the federal no-fly-list, terrorist watch lists, etc., etc....

It used to be called Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) and it began in 1988, I'm not sure if that is still what it's called. Airlines that didn't comply with it had landing rights taken away.

[bigdog 376]

They keep close track, even if you don't think so. More important if you want a 10 year card or citizenship. Someone might get lucky once but if you get caught you are toast.

[ahkhan99 0]

@Vanessa&Tony: Yes, POE agent can always check passport to check anything. Just that that means they need to locate that information from the different pages of a passport to find the right stamping. That is not very efficient, but definitely an option. For a frequent traveler, that could mean a lot of stamping and I would assume it will take some time to go through the pages to the right stamping info. I would have thought there has to be an easier for these to find something. There should be an for app for that! I was curious..and that is why I was asking. I personally don't have anything that i am trying to keep away from them. I am an ordinary law abiding citizen, just like you. Did you say your GC was swiped a foreign country? If you are travelling to foreign country, there shouldn't be a reason for the airlines to swipe your GC. I mean you visa requirement to that country is not on your GC. So why bother.

@Alaskan: My question was about exiting the country, not entering. Everyone know, if are entering the country from overseas, you have to go through immigration. So that is a no brainer. For your information, I don't owe any child support or wanted in any crime. Also this was a curious question I had, more for general knowledge. It doesn't affect me in any sort of way. I travel on my American passport. It is not matter of if I believe everyone is monitored or not. That was not my question. I nor anyone in my family are not interested or have any intention of any type of fraud. Yes, your GC or passport is swiped when you enter the country. I was saying I haven't heard or seen it be swiped when leaving the country. Most other countries, you have an entry and exit seal from immigration. Once you go past the immigration section, you can't go back in without going through immigration. So you never have an exit seal on your passport. Yes, I am aware they ask you how long you have been away, etc. But I would be surprised if they are going with whatever your response to that question was. Simply put, there should be an easy to for POE office to know when you left the country. What is that.......is the question.

@NickD: My guess is that US knows about how many people overstay their visa, probably by looking at how when the I-94 was issued and when it was turned back in. So if 6 months go by and the I-94 is not turned in, most likely someone is overstaying? Not sure...purely just a guess.

@Laure&Colin: I am not sure if airlines has access to immigration computers. And I don't know if they have authority to access/update immigration records, since they are airline employee, not immigration agents. They probably swipe the machine readable passport (MRP) to get traveler details, like address, DOB, etc. Lets say your passport is scanned at the airline counter, you got through immigration check and head to boarding. For some reason, you decide you want to take a later flight or the flight got cancelled or broken plane (or whatever the reason). You would go back to your home/hotel or wherever. If you are saying that your passport was swiped to mark your exit, how do you get back in without going through immigration. Most places, if I had to go back, I would have to go through immigration again to 'let' back in. Just a hypothetical scenario.

@Krikit: Your data is swiped by airline database or systems. Not immigration systems. They may hand them to immigration. I don't know and hence I was asking. Do you know for sure? I guess anything is possible. The question was a general inquiry.

[Delta5 9]

I have travelled a couple of times and I have never been asked to swipe my green card. Just saying, may not be consistent.

Your green card might not have been swipe or checked while leaving the country but your passport were, especially, if it is a biometric (e-passport) and machine readable already, even if it was not a machine readable one, your passport info and data were entered manually by the airline and was passed to the Homeland Security, specifically the CBP. You also must had a date of arrival/departure of your travel abroad (country of origin) which is probably stamped into your passport by the immigration in Bangladesh. Once you enter back to the US, as per routine, both your passport and green card were checked at the POE. All your data are already in the system. Its not the sames system 24 years ago at the border nor even 12 years ago. Border system electronic data now are link together with other system, though not perfect yet, but are par superior now in checking your status and travels outside the country. If you want to find your travel abroad monitored by the CBP here's the link: CBP information

[Krikit 1,163]

The question was a general inquiry.

Moving from US Citizenship forum to General Immigration Discussion.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Up and running some time in 1998, based on the Immigration reform of 1996, the United States has the most advanced Entry/Exit system on the planet. Think star wars technology. The passenger manifests contain some information, among them first name, last name, date of birth, passport number. DHS computers can use the passport number and other collected data to know what your eye color, hair color, height, weight, etc. is, and compare it with a pool of data. The can also see if a person with those identifiers is wanted somewhere, has been convicted of a crime in the US or Canada. For that reason a person with a British and a Pakistani passport can't trick the system, or somebody who gets themselves a new passport with a different number and no entry. You cannot possibly imagine what Big Brother knows about travelers in a post-911 world and with the blessing of the renewed Patriot Act.

Nobody can outsmart a federal database that has cost $50,000,000,000.00.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

@Vanessa&Tony: Yes, POE agent can always check passport to check anything. Just that that means they need to locate that information from the different pages of a passport to find the right stamping. That is not very efficient, but definitely an option. For a frequent traveler, that could mean a lot of stamping and I would assume it will take some time to go through the pages to the right stamping info. I would have thought there has to be an easier for these to find something. There should be an for app for that! I was curious..and that is why I was asking. I personally don't have anything that i am trying to keep away from them. I am an ordinary law abiding citizen, just like you. Did you say your GC was swiped a foreign country? If you are travelling to foreign country, there shouldn't be a reason for the airlines to swipe your GC. I mean you visa requirement to that country is not on your GC. So why bother.

I e-checked in at my local airport for my international flight back to Aus just using my Aussie passport details. Boarding my flight back to the US FROM Aus they entered my GC info on the system... Was quite the drama actually 'cause I got the card in July 2010, travelled in Nov and apparently they hadn't seen too many of the "newly changed GC's" (changed in June 2010) so they were confused about where my "A number" was (kept calling it my A number instead of alien number.. it was weird) and I have to admit I think she thought it was fake! So she had to call a supervisor and then they found my "A number". Morons.

Edited March 26, 2012 by Vanessa&Tony

[ishazi 0]

I am applying for my mother and she has visited Canada quite often because all my family lives there but I have never kept track of her coming and going so how do I provide exact dates? Do they even have dates and do I have to mention that she has visited Canada so often

[ahkhan99 0]

I am applying for my mother and she has visited Canada quite often because all my family lives there but I have never kept track of her coming and going so how do I provide exact dates? Do they even have dates and do I have to mention that she has visited Canada so often

Does your mother have any entry seal from Canada on her passport? You would have work back from that, I would presume. Check her pasport and see if you can find any stampings of entry into Canada. Good luck.

[ishazi 0]

No stamps coming or going from Canada. They only ask for Green Card.