[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1384 Introduced in House (IH)]







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 individuals 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 Representatives 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 Immigration 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 described in subsection 
(c) may enter the United States from Canada on a body of water when 
traveling by small pleasure 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 officer, 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 subsection 
        (b)(2)--
                    ``(A) at the time of such entry and at the time of 
                such registration, in the case of an individual 
                described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (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 accomplished by the individual's 
providing the Attorney General with the following information:
            ``(1) The name of the individual.
            ``(2) Sufficient identifying information (as specified by 
        the Attorney General in regulations), contained in a document 
        issued by a State, the Government of the United States, or a 
        national or provincial Canadian governmental authority, to 
        prove that the individual is a United States citizen, a lawful 
        permanent resident of the United States, a Canadian 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 government authority with 
        respect to the pleasure craft.
    ``(c) Individuals Described.--An individual referred 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 temporary 
                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 immediate 
                        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 nationality 
                        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 registration.
    ``(e) Establishment of Toll-free Number.--The Attorney General--
            ``(1) acting alone or in conjunction with the Secretary of 
        the Treasury, shall establish a toll-free telephone number that 
        may be used by individuals for the purpose of registering under 
        this section; or
            ``(2) shall permit such registration through an existing 
        toll-free number established by the Secretary of the 
        Treasury.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 244 the following:

``Sec. 244A. Treatment of certain recreational boaters entering from 
                            Canada.''.
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