I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1384
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a telephone
reporting system to permit certain individuals traveling by boat to enter
the United States from Canada without applying for admission at a
port of entry.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 17, 1997
Mr. MCHUGH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish
a telephone reporting system to permit certain individ-
uals traveling by boat to enter the United States from
Canada without applying for admission at a port of
entry.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN RECREATIONAL
BOATERS ENTERING FROM CANADA.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 4 of title II of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘TREATMENT OF CERTAIN RECREATIONAL BOATERS
ENTERING FROM CANADA
‘‘SEC. 244A. (a) IN GENERAL.—An individual de-
scribed in subsection (c) may enter the United States from
Canada on a body of water when traveling by small pleas-
ure craft of less than 5 net tons without merchandise to
be landed, without applying for admission at a United
States port of entry or inspection by an immigration offi-
cer, if the individual—
‘‘(1) registers by telephone with the Attorney
General as soon as practicable upon landing in the
United States; and
‘‘(2) is carrying a document described in sub-
section (b)(2)—
‘‘(A) at the time of such entry and at the
time of such registration, in the case of an indi-
vidual described in paragraph (1) or (2) of sub-
section (c); or
‘‘(B) during the entire period in which the
individual remains in the United States, in the
case of an individual described in subsection
(c)(3).
‘‘(b) REGISTRATION.—Telephonic registration under
subsection (a) with respect to an individual shall be ac-
complished by the individual’s providing the Attorney Gen-
eral with the following information:
‘‘(1) The name of the individual.
‘‘(2) Sufficient identifying information (as spec-
ified by the Attorney General in regulations), con-
tained in a document issued by a State, the Govern-
ment of the United States, or a national or provin-
cial Canadian governmental authority, to prove that
the individual is a United States citizen, a lawful
permanent resident of the United States, a Cana-
dian national, or a resident of Canada, other than
a Canadian national, having a common nationality
with Canadians.
‘‘(3) The name of the owner of the pleasure
craft on which the entry was made.
‘‘(4) The name of the operator of the pleasure
craft, if different from the name of the owner.
‘‘(5) The license number of the pleasure craft,
if such a license is otherwise required by any govern-
ment authority with respect to the pleasure craft.
‘‘(c) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An individual re-
ferred to in subsection (a) is any of the following:
‘‘(1) A United States citizen.
‘‘(2) A lawful permanent resident of the United
States.
‘‘(3) An individual who—
‘‘(A) enters the United States as a tem-
porary visitor for pleasure;
‘‘(B) intends to remain in the United
States—
‘‘(i) for a period not to exceed 72
hours; and
‘‘(ii) in areas adjacent to the imme-
diate shore area of the United States, such
as nearby shopping areas, residential
neighborhoods, or similar areas; and
‘‘(C) is—
‘‘(i) a Canadian national; or
‘‘(ii) a resident of Canada, other than
a Canadian national, having a common na-
tionality with Canadians.
‘‘(d) REGISTRATION NUMBER.—Upon registering an
individual under this section, the Attorney General shall
assign to the registration a unique identifying number and
shall provide the number to the individual for use in any
future interactions between them with respect to the reg-
istration.
‘‘(e) ESTABLISHMENT OF TOLL-FREE NUMBER.—
The Attorney General—