PRIA Logo™
Title 8, Aliens and NationalityRelease 119-110

§1225a Preinspection at Foreign Airports

Title 8 › CHAPTER 12 — IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY › SUBCHAPTER II — IMMIGRATION › Part IV — Inspection, Apprehension, Examination, Exclusion, and Removal › § 1225a

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Set up preinspection stations at foreign airports to check travelers before they fly to the United States. By October 31, 1998, the Attorney General, after talking with the Secretary of State, must open and run preinspection stations at least in 5 of the 10 foreign airports that send the most people to U.S. ports of entry who turn out to be inadmissible. These stations add to any already open before September 30, 1996. The Attorney General must also report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees by October 31, 1998. Starting November 1, 1997, and every year after that, the Attorney General must collect data listing which foreign airports were last points of departure for people who arrived without valid papers, how many and what nationalities they were, and the main travel routes they used. By January 1, 2008, the Secretary of Homeland Security, after talking with the Secretary of State and using that data, must open preinspection stations at at least 25 more foreign airports. Before opening any station, officials must make sure U.S. staff and their families are protected and not put at unreasonable risk, and that the host country follows the 1951 Refugee Convention (July 28, 1951) or the 1967 Protocol (January 31, 1967), or otherwise offers protection against return to persecution. The Secretary of Homeland Security must also assign extra immigration officers to help airlines spot fake documents at foreign airports that have sent many people to the U.S. without valid papers but do not have preinspection stations. By December 31, 2006, at least 50 airports must have such assignments.

Full Legal Text

Title 8, §1225a

Aliens and Nationality, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Establishment of preinspection stations
(1)New stations.—
Subject to paragraph (5), not later than October 31, 1998, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall establish and maintain preinspection stations in at least 5 of the foreign airports that are among the 10 foreign airports which the Attorney General identifies as serving as last points of departure for the greatest numbers of inadmissible alien passengers who arrive from abroad by air at ports of entry within the United States. Such preinspection stations shall be in addition to any preinspection stations established prior to September 30, 1996.
(2)Report.—
Not later than October 31, 1998, the Attorney General shall report to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of the Senate on the implementation of paragraph (1).
(3)Data collection.—
Not later than November 1, 1997, and each subsequent November 1, the Attorney General shall compile data identifying—
(A)the foreign airports which served as last points of departure for aliens who arrived by air at United States ports of entry without valid documentation during the preceding fiscal years;
(B)the number and nationality of such aliens arriving from each such foreign airport; and
(C)the primary routes such aliens followed from their country of origin to the United States.
(4)Subject to paragraph (5), not later than January 1, 2008, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall establish preinspection stations in at least 25 additional foreign airports, which the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, determines, based on the data compiled under paragraph (3) and such other information as may be available, would most effectively facilitate the travel of admissible aliens and reduce the number of inadmissible aliens, especially aliens who are potential terrorists, who arrive from abroad by air at points of entry within the United States. Such preinspection stations shall be in addition to those established before September 30, 1996, or pursuant to paragraph (1).
(5)Conditions.—
Prior to the establishment of a preinspection station, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall ensure that—
(A)employees of the United States stationed at the preinspection station and their accompanying family members will receive appropriate protection;
(B)such employees and their families will not be subject to unreasonable risks to their welfare and safety; and
(C)the country in which the preinspection station is to be established maintains practices and procedures with respect to asylum seekers and refugees in accordance with the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (done at Geneva, July 28, 1951), or the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (done at New York, January 31, 1967), or that an alien in the country otherwise has recourse to avenues of protection from return to persecution.
(b)Establishment of carrier consultant program and immigration security initiative
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall assign additional immigration officers to assist air carriers in the detection of fraudulent documents at foreign airports which, based on the records maintained pursuant to subsection (a)(3), served as a point of departure for a significant number of arrivals at United States ports of entry without valid documentation, but where no preinspection station exists. Beginning not later than December 31, 2006, the number of airports selected for an assignment under this subsection shall be at least 50.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification September 30, 1996, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), was in the original “the date of the enactment of such Act”, which was translated as meaning the date of enactment of Pub. L. 104–208, which enacted this section, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

Amendments

2004—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 108–458, § 7210(d)(1), amended par. (4) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (4) read as follows: “(4) Additional stations.—Subject to paragraph (5), not later than
October 31, 2000, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall establish preinspection stations in at least 5 additional foreign airports which the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, determines, based on the data compiled under paragraph (3) and such other information as may be available, would most effectively reduce the number of aliens who arrive from abroad by air at points of entry within the United States who are inadmissible to the United States. Such preinspection stations shall be in addition to those established prior to
September 30, 1996, or pursuant to paragraph (1).” Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 108–458, § 7206(a), inserted “and immigration security initiative” after “program” in heading, substituted “Secretary of Homeland Security” for “Attorney General” in text, and inserted at end “Beginning not later than
December 31, 2006, the number of airports selected for an assignment under this subsection shall be at least 50.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

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. Exchange of Terrorist Information and Increased Preinspection at Foreign Airports Pub. L. 108–458, title VII, § 7210(a), (b), Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3824, provided that: “(a) Findings.—Consistent with the report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, Congress makes the following findings:“(1) The exchange of terrorist information with other countries, consistent with privacy requirements, along with listings of lost and stolen passports, will have immediate security benefits. “(2) The further away from the borders of the United States that screening occurs, the more security benefits the United States will gain. “(b) Sense of Congress.—It is the sense of Congress that—“(1) the Federal Government should exchange terrorist information with trusted allies; “(2) the Federal Government should move toward real-time verification of passports with issuing authorities; “(3) where practicable, the Federal Government should conduct screening before a passenger departs on a flight destined for the United States; “(4) the Federal Government should work with other countries to ensure effective inspection regimes at all airports; “(5) the Federal Government should work with other countries to improve passport standards and provide foreign assistance to countries that need help making the transition to the global standard for identification; and “(6) the Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Department of State and other Federal agencies, should implement the initiatives called for in this subsection.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

8 U.S.C. § 1225a

Title 8, Aliens and Nationality

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110