Travel tracked for US citizens?

[immigration83]

Hi Ron

Just curious - does the US government track entry / exit of US citizens as permanent residents?

When departing from US airport, a permanent resident will normally need to submit green card for airline to record departure information, will airline do the same for US citizens before turning in the departure information of US citizens to US immigration as well?

Thanks.

[JoeF]

The airlines are required to give a copy of the passenger manifest to DHS. That of course includes information of US citizen travelers as well.

[immigration83]

Thanks JoeF.

But how come they still ask US citizen questions like "how long were you gone?" each time at the port of entry? They should have all the citizen exit information already on their computer.

[JoeF]

They don't always ask.
I assume they ask to see the reaction of the person. If there is something a person is trying to hide, the person's behavior usually changes.

[Ron Gotcher]

They generally ask that question to determine whether they need to inquire about what the person was doing outside the US.

[immigration83]

Hi Ron

Thanks. And just curious again - why are they still concerned about what the person was doing outside the US by questioning the length of absence, now that the person is US citizen but not green card holders??

In their sense, what is the normal length of absence that will trigger further questioning? 3 months? 6 months?

[Ron Gotcher]

The length of your trip could trigger questions concerning what you are bringing back with you, whether you have outstanding tax issues, and possibly whether you were involved in criminal or illicit activities.