Title 8 — Aliens and NationalityRelease 119-73not60
§1105 Liaison with Internal Security Officers; Data Exchange
Title 8 › Chapter 12— IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY › Subchapter I— GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 1105
Summary
The heads of the immigration agencies may work directly and continuously with the FBI, the CIA, and other government security officers to get and share information needed to enforce immigration laws and protect the country’s borders. Those two immigration leaders must also stay in constant contact with each other so they run immigration and nationality rules in a coordinated, uniform, and efficient way. The Attorney General and the FBI Director must give the State Department and the Service access to criminal-record data in the NCIC Interstate Identification Index (NCIC‑III), the Wanted Persons File, and any other NCIC files they both agree on, so they can check visa or admission applicants. The data will be sent as extracts for the visa database, free of charge, with regular updates agreed on by both sides; old extracts must be destroyed when replaced. The State Department cannot get the full criminal record from an extract. To get the full record, it must send fingerprints and any allowed processing fee to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division. The State Department must create final rules about fingerprinting and safe, limited use of the data before it gets access, and must do so no later than 4 months after October 26, 2001.
Full Legal Text
Title 8, §1105
Aliens and Nationality — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)The Commissioner and the Administrator shall have authority to maintain direct and continuous liaison with the Directors of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency and with other internal security officers of the Government for the purpose of obtaining and exchanging information for use in enforcing the provisions of this chapter in the interest of the internal and border security of the United States. The Commissioner and the Administrator shall maintain direct and continuous liaison with each other with a view to a coordinated, uniform, and efficient administration of this chapter, and all other immigration and nationality laws.
(b)(1)The Attorney General and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall provide the Department of State and the Service access to the criminal history record information contained in the National Crime Information Center’s Interstate Identification Index (NCIC-III), Wanted Persons File, and to any other files maintained by the National Crime Information Center that may be mutually agreed upon by the Attorney General and the agency receiving the access, for the purpose of determining whether or not a visa applicant or applicant for admission has a criminal history record indexed in any such file.
(2)Such access shall be provided by means of extracts of the records for placement in the automated visa lookout or other appropriate database, and shall be provided without any fee or charge.
(3)The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall provide periodic updates of the extracts at intervals mutually agreed upon with the agency receiving the access. Upon receipt of such updated extracts, the receiving agency shall make corresponding updates to its database and destroy previously provided extracts.
(4)Access to an extract does not entitle the Department of State to obtain the full content of the corresponding automated criminal history record. To obtain the full content of a criminal history record, the Department of State shall submit the applicant’s fingerprints and any appropriate fingerprint processing fee authorized by law to the Criminal Justice Information Services Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(c)The provision of the extracts described in subsection (b) may be reconsidered by the Attorney General and the receiving agency upon the development and deployment of a more cost-effective and efficient means of sharing the information.
(d)For purposes of administering this section, the Department of State shall, prior to receiving access to NCIC data but not later than 4 months after October 26, 2001, promulgate final regulations—
(1)to implement procedures for the taking of fingerprints; and
(2)to establish the conditions for the use of the information received from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in order—
(A)to limit the redissemination of such information;
(B)to ensure that such information is used solely to determine whether or not to issue a visa to an alien or to admit an alien to the United States;
(C)to ensure the security, confidentiality, and destruction of such information; and
(D)to protect any privacy rights of individuals who are subjects of such information.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original, “this Act”, meaning act June 27, 1952, ch. 477, 66 Stat. 163, known as the Immigration and Nationality Act, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 1101 of this title and Tables.
Amendments
2001—Pub. L. 107–56 inserted “; data exchange” after “security officers” in section catchline, designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted “and border” before “security of the United States”, and added subsecs. (b) to (d). 1994—Pub. L. 103–236 substituted “Administrator” for “Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs” in two places. 1977—Pub. L. 95–105 substituted “Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs” for “administrator” in two places.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1994 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 103–236 applicable with respect to officials, offices, and bureaus of Department of State when executive orders,
Regulations
, or departmental directives implementing the
Amendments
by section 161 and 162 of Pub. L. 103–236 become effective, or 90 days after Apr. 30, 1994, whichever comes earlier, see section 161(b) of Pub. L. 103–236, as amended, set out as a note under section 2651a of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. Statutory
Construction
Pub. L. 107–56, title IV, § 403(d), Oct. 26, 2001, 115 Stat. 345, provided that: “Nothing in this section [enacting section 1379 of this title, amending this section, and enacting provisions set out as a note under this section], or in any other law, shall be construed to limit the authority of the Attorney General or the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to provide access to the criminal history record information contained in the National Crime Information Center’s (NCIC) Interstate Identification Index (NCIC-III), or to any other information maintained by the NCIC, to any Federal agency or officer authorized to enforce or administer the immigration laws of the United States, for the purpose of such
Enforcement
or administration, upon terms that are consistent with the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Act of 1998 (subtitle A of title II of Public Law 105–251; 42 U.S.C. 14611–16) [now 34 U.S.C. 40311–16] and section 552a of title 5, United States Code.” Abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service and
Transfer of Functions
For abolition of Immigration and Naturalization Service,
Transfer of Functions
, and treatment of related references, see note set out under section 1551 of this title. Reporting Requirement Pub. L. 107–56, title IV, § 403(b), Oct. 26, 2001, 115 Stat. 344, provided that: “Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 26, 2001], the Attorney General and the Secretary of State jointly shall report to Congress on the implementation of the
Amendments
made by this section [amending this section].”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
8 U.S.C. § 1105
Title 8 — Aliens and Nationality
Last Updated
Apr 3, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60