Part VII
The Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) was developed by the U.S.
government in 1989 as a voluntary program in cooperation with the airline industry.
Mandatory APIS requirements were first implemented under the Aviation and
Transportation Security Act of 2001 and the Enhanced Border Security and Visa
Reform Act of 2002. As a result of 9/11 Commission recommendations, Congress
mandated that DHS establish a requirement to receive advance information on
international passengers traveling by air and sea, prior to their departure as required
in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.
APIS Final Rule
On April 7, 2005, CBP published the APIS Final Rule. Under the regulations,
carriers were required to electronically transmit passenger and crew APIS data
for commercial flights arriving in and departing from the United States. The rule
established data elements for each traveler including full name, date of birth and
document information. Many of the required data elements are found in the
Machine Readable Zone of a passport.
APIS Pre-Departure and Interactive APIS Quick
Query
On Aug. 23, 2007, CBP published the APIS Pre-Departure Final Rule, with an effective
date of Feb. 19, 2008. The rule amended existing regulations and provides three
options for commercial air carriers to transmit data.
APIS Transmission
Air carriers may transmit predeparture APIS information either:
• Using the APIS Batch Transmission, in interactive or noninteractive form, that
requires air carriers to transmit the complete manifest for all passengers 30
minutes prior to departure.
• Using the APIS Quick Query mode that allows air carriers to transmit in real
time as each passenger checks in for the flight prior to boarding.
For vessels departing from foreign ports bound for the U.S., requirements are to
transmit passenger and crew arrival manifest data between 24 to 96 hours prior to
arrival. Vessel carriers departing the United States are required to transmit APIS data
60 minutes prior to departure.
APIS Document Validation
CBP implemented the Document Validation program that compares APIS data to
document information that CBP has on file. Through Document Validation, CBP
verifies the APIS data and uses existing interactive communications to advise carriers
if the data is on file and if the document is valid. This adds additional security and
streamlining of the check-in process.
To ensure accurate matching, the data elements such as the traveler’s name, date of
birth, and document-issuing country and number must be complete and correct.
This can be accomplished by transmitting data that is contained in the Machine
Readable Zone.
For more information, contact your APIS account manager.