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Title 8 — Aliens and NationalityRelease 119-73not60

§1284 Control of Alien Crewmen

Title 8 › Chapter 12— IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY › Subchapter II— IMMIGRATION › Part VI— Special Provisions Relating to Alien Crewmen › § 1284

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

Vessels and aircraft coming from outside the United States must keep any foreign crew member on board (or, for planes, at a place the immigration officer picks and the airline pays for) until an immigration officer finishes the inspection, including a medical exam. After inspection the crew member must stay on board unless the officer gives a temporary landing permit or allows temporary landing for medical care, or unless the officer orders the crew member removed. If the owner, agent, charterer, master, or commanding officer fails to follow these rules, they must pay $3,000 for each crew member involved. The Attorney General can lower that fine to as little as $500 for each crew member. A ship or plane cannot get clearance to leave until the fine is decided or paid; clearance can be given earlier if a deposit or approved bond covering the fine is provided. If a crew member did not show up on the outgoing list or was reported as a deserter, that is treated as proof they were not detained or removed unless rules say otherwise. If removing the crew member from the arrival vessel or plane is impractical or would cause undue hardship, the Attorney General may arrange removal on another vessel or plane of the same company. All costs for removal and any transfer inside the United States must be paid or guaranteed by the owner of the vessel or aircraft the crew member arrived on. A crew member moved under these rules is not counted as having landed in the United States.

Full Legal Text

Title 8, §1284

Aliens and Nationality — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The owner, agent, consignee, charterer, master, or commanding officer of any vessel or aircraft arriving in the United States from any place outside thereof who fails (1) to detain on board the vessel, or in the case of an aircraft to detain at a place specified by an immigration officer at the expense of the airline, any alien crewman employed thereon until an immigration officer has completely inspected such alien crewman, including a physical examination by the medical examiner, or (2) to detain any alien crewman on board the vessel, or in the case of an aircraft at a place specified by an immigration officer at the expense of the airline, after such inspection unless a conditional permit to land temporarily has been granted such alien crewman under section 1282 of this title or unless an alien crewman has been permitted to land temporarily under section 1182(d)(5) or 1283 of this title for medical or hospital treatment, or (3) to remove such alien crewman if required to do so by an immigration officer, whether such removal requirement is imposed before or after the crewman is permitted to land temporarily under section 1182(d)(5), 1282, or 1283 of this title, shall pay to the Commissioner the sum of $3,000 for each alien crewman in respect to whom any such failure occurs. No such vessel or aircraft shall be granted clearance pending the determination of the liability to the payment of such fine, or while the fine remains unpaid, except that clearance may be granted prior to the determination of such question upon the deposit of a sum sufficient to cover such fine, or of a bond with sufficient surety to secure the payment thereof approved by the Commissioner. The Attorney General may, upon application in writing therefor, mitigate such penalty to not less than $500 for each alien crewman in respect of whom such failure occurs, upon such terms as he shall think proper.
(b)Except as may be otherwise prescribed by regulations issued by the Attorney General, proof that an alien crewman did not appear upon the outgoing manifest of the vessel or aircraft on which he arrived in the United States from any place outside thereof, or that he was reported by the master or commanding officer of such vessel or aircraft as a deserter, shall be prima facie evidence of a failure to detain or remove such alien crewman.
(c)If the Attorney General finds that removal of an alien crewman under this section on the vessel or aircraft on which he arrived is impracticable or impossible, or would cause undue hardship to such alien crewman, he may cause the alien crewman to be removed from the port of arrival or any other port on another vessel or aircraft of the same transportation line, unless the Attorney General finds this to be impracticable. All expenses incurred in connection with such removal, including expenses incurred in transferring an alien crewman from one place in the United States to another under such conditions and safeguards as the Attorney General shall impose, shall be paid by the owner or owners of the vessel or aircraft on which the alien arrived in the United States. The vessel or aircraft on which the alien arrived shall not be granted clearance until such expenses have been paid or their payment guaranteed to the satisfaction of the Attorney General. An alien crewman who is transferred within the United States in accordance with this subsection shall not be regarded as having been landed in the United States.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1996—Pub. L. 104–208 substituted “remove” for “deport” in subsecs. (a) and (b), “removal” for “deportation” wherever appearing in subsecs. (a) and (c), and “removed” for “deported” in subsec. (c). 1991—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–232 substituted “Commissioner” for “collector of customs” before period at end of penultimate sentence. 1990—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–649 substituted “Commissioner the sum of $3,000” for “collector of customs of the customs district in which the port of arrival is located or in which the failure to comply with the orders of the officer occurs the sum of $1,000” and “$500” for “$200”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1996 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 104–208 effective, with certain transitional provisions, on the first day of the first month beginning more than 180 days after Sept. 30, 1996, see section 309 of Pub. L. 104–208, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1991 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 102–232 effective as if included in the enactment of the Immigration Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101–649, see section 310(1) of Pub. L. 102–232, set out as a note under section 1101 of this title.

Effective Date

of 1990 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 101–649 applicable to actions taken after Nov. 29, 1990, see section 543(c) of Pub. L. 101–649, set out as a note under section 1221 of this title. 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.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

8 U.S.C. § 1284

Title 8 — Aliens and Nationality

Last Updated

Apr 3, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60