[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 8, Volume 1]

[Revised as of January 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 8CFR273.3]



[Page 630]

 

                     TITLE 8--ALIENS AND NATIONALITY

 

               CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

 

PART 273_CARRIER RESPONSIBILITIES AT FOREIGN PORTS OF EMBARKATION; 

REDUCING, REFUNDING, OR WAIVING FINES UNDER SECTION 273 OF THE ACT

--Table of Contents

 

Sec. 273.3  Screening procedures.



    (a) Applicability. The terms and conditions contained in paragraph 

(b) of this section apply to those owners, operators, or agents of 

carriers which transport passengers to the United States.

    (b) Procedures at ports of embarkation. At each port of embarkation 

carriers shall take reasonable steps to prevent the boarding of 

improperly documented aliens destined to the United States by taking the 

following steps:

    (1) Screening of passengers by carrier personnel prior to boarding 

and examination of their travel documents to ensure that:

    (i) The passport or travel document presented is not expired and is 

valid for entry into the United States;

    (ii) The passenger is the rightful holder; and

    (iii) If the passenger requires a visa, the visa is valid for the 

holder and any other accompanying passengers named in the passport.

    (2) Refusing to board any passenger determined to be improperly 

documented. Failure to refuse boarding when advised to do so by a 

Service or Consular Officer may be considered by the Service as a factor 

in its evaluation of applications under Sec. 273.5.

    (3) Implementing additional safeguards such as, but not necessarily 

limited to, the following:

    (i) For instances in which the carrier suspects fraud, assessing the 

adequacy of the documents presented by asking additional, pertinent 

questions or by taking other appropriate steps to corroborate the 

identity of passengers, such as requesting secondary information.

    (ii) Conducting a second check of passenger documents, when 

necessary at high-risk ports of embarkation, at the time of boarding to 

verify that all passengers are properly documented consistent with 

paragraph (b)(1) of this section. This includes a recheck of documents 

at the final foreign port of embarkation for all passengers, including 

those originally boarded at a prior stop or who are being transported to 

the United States under the Transit Without Visa (TWOV) or 

International-to-International (ITI) Programs.

    (iii) Providing a reasonable level of security during the boarding 

process so that passengers are unable to circumvent any carrier document 

checks.