All commercial airlines arriving or departing the United States will, from today, have to submit detailed passenger manifests to the US Immigration and Naturalization Service before taking off.
The new law, passed in the wake of the September 11th, 2001 hijacked airline attacks, requires the submission of advanced information on all temporary foreign visitors to the United States.
Passenger information that must be submitted in advance includes their complete name and date of birth, their citizenship, sex, passport number and country of issuance and information on their US visas or alien registration number as well as an address in the United States.
"The advance submission requirement will help the INS verify the identities of individuals being transported, while ensuring enforcement of US immigration laws," the INS statement said.
Commercial air carriers have been required to submit similar information to the Us Customs Service since last December.
The new rules, which President Bush signed into law earlier this year, impose a series of strict requirements for foreign visitors. The United States has been changing its visa system over the past year to keep out people it fears may plan to attack the country.