The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency is proposing to require that all passengers on flights in and out of the United States provide:
- A U.S. address
- Two phone numbers (!)
- An email address
Anyone that does not or cannot comply with this rule would be denied boarding. Airlines would be allowed to keep the information for their own purposes. And they would be permitted, and in some cases required, to share it with foreign governments as well. The regulatory comments docket (“Advance Passenger Information System: Electronic Validation of Travel Documents”) on this proposal closes tonight.
The purpose of the rule is described as “enabl[ing] CBP to determine whether each passenger is traveling with valid authentic travel documents prior to the passenger boarding the aircraft.” This is something that they do today already.
It’s unclear who would be stopped that poses a threat now, though the travel rights of American citizens and others would be burdened. Instead it effectively imposes a travel document requirement on Americans that isn’t provided for in law, and outsources control over travelers to airlines that the agency cannot statutorily impose on its own.
And by attempting to match U.S. addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses that exist on a person in a government or private contracted database with those on file with travel documents, there are going to be mismatches because those databases often contain errors. (It’s why ChatGPT thinks I have two degrees from MIT, it confuses my schooling with that of a different Gary Leff.)
By the way, how is an asylum seeker supposed to provide their U.S. address prior to boarding a flight? That forces asylum seekers to take other, more dangerous, routes to get here. It is a very bad idea.
@WrongHole:
> It’s not people coming by plane that are the problem. It’s those that walk or swim to get to the US that should have this attention. More stupid, misguided policies. Here’s my two phone numbers from Google. I don’t check either and can’t be reached, but enjoy.
Most people who are here illegally entered legally, they didn’t walk across the border. The wall is a political game, not a meaningful barrier–barriers not backed up by good monitoring for breaches are merely speed bumps, not roadblocks. Are you familiar with the object called a “ladder”?
So if you’re single and don’t have any family, the sec9nd phone number is what, the local Domino’s?
So how many tourists to the US are likely to have two phone numbers with them?
I guess if you are visiting Disney world in Orlando, you’d have to give them Mickey mouse’s number as your second phone number?
This is going to put alot of British tourists off from visiting the US. It seems the US government is cutting its nose off to spite its face.
All totally unnecessary burocracy. The US is already the toughest nation to get into , Even for innocent tourists spending their money and boosting US economy.
The MAGA crowd has really stunk up this conversation. Maybe we should return to whining flight attendants.
Do you think TFG will use Putin as his second number? We know Melania uses Justin Trudeau.
40% of undocumented individuals come to the USA by plane Einstein. The ignorance and hate here. Wow
I am a US citizen living in Mexico and happen to have everything that is needed although my US address is the address of my mail forwarding company, my phone numbers are a Mexican cell phone and a Google voice number. However I have to question why I have to give up my right to privacy in order to visit home?
Like many other laws and regulations that are being considered, it forgets that many elderly that travel, have no email account and only have one phone number (usually a land line).
What an overkill. One would think that a biometric passport would sufice, but that would require commonsense.
Currently traveling to 3 countries in Asia. This was not required when we left the country, now are they saying we have to comply before we can return home?? They already have our passport info and cell.
You get what you vote for.
well, you don’t like, don’t fly.political asylum seekers that come to the border just for economic reasons after passing 3 or 4 countries without applying there.Give me a break
Who has two phone numbers these days. I certainly don’t. Dropped the land line years ago. So can’t fly any more?
The comments here are hilarious. You’d think the CBP does one thing and one thing only. You know they are also responsible for keeping out the actual bad guys, right? You know, the terrorists?
And all of you who are whinging about not having a 2nd phone number? Erm. Sure. You all have only one phone number. So you don’t have a work or business number? And you don’t have an email address? Yup. Right.
Not everyone who flies in and out of the USA wants to come here because they are immigrating from another country. Some people just come here to visit. And then leave.
I only have 1 number. My cell phone
Note that is says “proposing to require ” this is a rule making process. We all have the ability to weigh in on this proposal. It is not automatic. It is likely that the Administration or anyone in congress is not aware of this proposal. Mid level people in department of Homeland Security are trying to meet some objective and propose rules to meet objectives. They are not really concerned about it affect on the traveling public. So the best thing in this situation is to comment on the proposed change via the website. Write your congressman and the administration.
This will help identify visa overstays and, unfortunately, we need to do something to manage the problem better. It stinks that lawbreakers cause the rest of us to give up a little more of our own freedom.
Frequent flier UK to USA. Up till now al I have had to do is give a US address for first night. So I fly in and stay at airport hotel which is my address. After that I travel all over and I have never understood this requirement. I only have one phone so now ,when I fly in ,do I randomly choose a friends address and another friends phone number?
I’m not sure how this system would help prevent undesirables entering the country after all Harry Windsor seemed to dodge the questions about drug use.
“enabl[ing] CBP to determine whether each passenger is traveling with valid authentic travel documents prior to the passenger boarding the aircraft.”
That’s literally what a passport is. Someone should tell the State department DHS is trying to illegally create their own system.
I’ll be using 8675 309 as my second number if they try to put this into practice.
More control from the left for sure. This is what Comunist countries do, they want to know where you are, where you’re going etc,etc,etc. most definitely this is not the United States I once knew. Don’t you people agree? Government please mind your own GD business.
“Comunist” countries purge libraries of content that offends the state, restrict human rights, and expel opposition leaders from government. Sound familiar? If going to make this sbout politics, try to keep your authoritarianism scorecard straight.
@Philip C:
> More control from the left for sure. This is what Comunist countries do, they want to know where you are, where you’re going etc,etc,etc. most definitely this is not the United States I once knew. Don’t you people agree? Government please mind your own GD business.
This is a pretty small change compared to the status quo–you’ve always needed to provide a phone # and where you’re staying that night. This adds a second phone number (which I would think the place you’re staying would qualify) and an e-mail (which the vast majority of people have.) This is a very minor change that will only matter in some edge cases.
Consider the other Republican actions, though–trying to suppress ideas they don’t like. That’s major and that’s what the communists do.