Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73

§3508 Custody and return of foreign witnesses

Title 18 › Part PART II— - CRIMINAL PROCEDURE › Chapter CHAPTER 223— - WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE › § 3508

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Attorney General can ask to bring someone who is jailed or held in another country to the United States to testify in a state or federal criminal case. He can have that person brought here in custody, keep them in custody while they are here, and send them back afterward. If a treaty or international agreement covers these transfers, its rules control and the person must be returned to the country they came from without asking for extradition or using immigration proceedings. If no treaty exists, the Attorney General may do this only if the foreign country and the person agree.

Full Legal Text

Title 18, §3508

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)When the testimony of a person who is serving a sentence, is in pretrial detention, or is otherwise being held in custody, in a foreign country, is needed in a State or Federal criminal proceeding, the Attorney General shall, when he deems it appropriate in the exercise of his discretion, have the authority to request the temporary transfer of that person to the United States for the purposes of giving such testimony, to transport such person to the United States in custody, to maintain the custody of such person while he is in the United States, and to return such person to the foreign country.

(b)Where the transfer to the United States of a person in custody for the purposes of giving testimony is provided for by treaty or convention, by this section, or both, that person shall be returned to the foreign country from which he is transferred. In no event shall the return of such person require any request for extradition or extradition proceedings, or proceedings under the immigration laws.

(c)Where there is a treaty or convention between the United States and the foreign country in which the witness is being held in custody which provides for the transfer, custody and return of such witnesses, the terms and conditions of that treaty shall apply. Where there is no such treaty or convention, the Attorney General may exercise the authority described in paragraph (a) if both the foreign country and the witness give their consent.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

18 U.S.C. § 3508

Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73