U.S. government proposes rules to identify all international travelers WASHINGTON (AP) =97 Millions of travelers arriving and departing the United= =20 States will have to submit detailed personal information this year under=20 rules proposed by the federal government Friday as part of the war on=20 terrorism. The rules proposed by the Immigration and Naturalization=20 Service, once they are finalized, seek more information from travelers than= =20 under current law and for the first time extend the requirements to U.S.=20 citizens and others previously exempted. All airlines, cargo flights,=20 cruise ships and other vessels carrying crew or passengers will be=20 affected, with the exception of ferry boats. The information will be sent=20 electronically to the government before a traveler arrives in the United=20 States or departs from it, giving officials a complete manifest of exactly= =20 who is on board. "It's another way to enhance security for travelers," said= =20 INS spokeswoman Kimberly Weismann. The changes were mandated by broad border security legislation that passed= =20 Congress overwhelmingly and was signed into law May 14 by President Bush.=20 The law also tightened rules regarding issuance of visas to visitors and=20 students coming to the United States and adding more Border Patrol=20 officers, among other things. For years, international travelers have been= =20 required to fill out forms detailing their arrival and departure from=20 countries around the world. The U.S. government, however, has not=20 previously required its own citizens to submit such forms. Canadians,=20 permanent resident aliens and certain other people were also exempted. The= =20 proposed INS rule would require all passengers arriving or departing, as=20 well as crew members, to provide this information: name; date of birth;=20 citizenship; sex; passport number and country of issuance; country of=20 residence; U.S. visa number and other details of its issuance; address=20 while in the United States; and, where it applies, alien registration= number. The law also gives Attorney General John Ashcroft leeway in proposing=20 further requirements. In the INS rule, Ashcroft has added a proposed=20 "passenger name record" for airlines that will enable the government to=20 better match a departure record with one for an arrival. Once the information is collected, it will be transmitted to the U.S.=20 government and matched against "the appropriate security databases" prior=20 to the travelers' arrival. Anyone who raises a red flag regarding terrorism= =20 or other law enforcement concern could be met by officials when the ship or= =20 plane arrives in this country. That computer system is still being=20 developed, meaning the rules will probably take full effect later this=20 year. The INS estimates they will affect 108 large commercial air carriers= =20 and ship lines, as well as more than 14,400 smaller carriers of both kinds.= =20 Initial costs to the private sector in complying with the rules are pegged= =20 at $166 million. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) : escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.hilofoodstores.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************