how the INS know when was yr departure?

[CYBERWORLD]

I am wondering how the INS know when was your date of departure from US?

It seems that they didn't check the GC and passport at all. Only the airlines people see the passport.

So, do they have any record of the departure?

Thanks!

[AmericanWannabe]

They ask you when you come back and they write the duration
of your absense on your passport plus maybe enter that into
your record. Dare you to lie about something they can
inevitably find out if they want to?

[jnwong]

Are you sure they swipe the GC at all times? Or sometimes? I've seen some GC holders not submitting their green cards at the check-in counter for swiping.

[jnwong]

Ok. How about Canada or Mexico for US GC holders, since these two countries are so close to the US? Same thing happened?

[CYBERWORLD]

I think scan through the GC and passports happened only in recent year, right? I think the airlines people didn't even note down the passports number before 9/11

Also, how about some people depart from US to Canada and then depart from Canada to their destination country? I think there is no US INS officer checking your passport and GC when u depart from US to Canada through the border. And I don't think the INS can know who departed from Canada to other countries, especially if you use another passport to depart from Canada. Afterall they are two different nations.

Please correct me if I am wrong!!

[jnwong]

To CYBERWORLD:

If US wants to check it, they can always find out, as is my understanding.

There have been a automatic data sharing for the international passenger manifest for both coutries. The API program is an example:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pub/sept11.html
(Read #6)

http://www.gcn.com/21_34/news/20674-1.html
(Read bullet #3)

But whether or not they will check every GC holder is another issue.

[jnwong]

One more thing--if you use your GC to enter Canada, then your GC information will be captured by Canadian immigration, which can be viewed by US immigration later on.