CBP Rail APIS

Document Guidance

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Office of Field Operations
Version 1.0
June 2012

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Executive Summary

To better facilitate commercial rail travel, voluntary Advance Passenger Information System
(APIS) manifests can be submitted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for trains
arriving in or departing from certain United States ports of entry. These electronically submitted
manifests are to include all travelers (passengers and crew) aboard each train.

This guide provides information pertaining to some of the most common travel documents rail
carriers may encounter when collecting manifest information for submission to CBP. It does not
address the validity of documents for land border crossings into and out of the United States.
Additional information on acceptable documents is available on the Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative (WHTI) website at www.getyouhome.gov. Carriers can also refer to the Carrier
Information Guide at
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/inspections_carriers_facilities/carrier_info_guide/.

This guide is designed to serve as a reference aid and is intended as general guidance to assist
persons responsible for submitting rail APIS data with the submission of document information.
It is not intended to cover every possible document that may be submitted. This document does
not create or confer any right or benefit on any person or party, private or public.

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 Table of Contents

I. General Document Information…………………………………………………… 3

II. Specific Document Submission Data………………………………..…..………… 3

III. Document Images and Examples…………………………………………………. 4

IV. Summary…………………………………………………………………………… 10

Appendix I - Document Codes and Descriptions……………………………………… 11

Appendix II - Country Codes…………………………………………………………... 12

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I. General Document Information
A variety of documents can be used to enter the United States from Canada and Mexico. The
CBP officer at the U.S. port of entry will make the determination as to the validity of the
document(s) presented by the traveler for admission to the United States.

In order to avoid delays, it is prudent for the carrier collecting the document information to
compare the travel document presented by the traveler with the travel document information it is
transmitting to CBP to ensure that the information is correct, the document appears to be valid
for travel to the United States, and the traveler is the person to whom the travel document was
issued. The most common documents that the carrier will likely encounter are passports,
passport cards, permanent resident cards, enhanced driver’s licenses, and visas.

Carriers are encouraged to submit passport information if the traveler has a passport. In the
event that a traveler does not have a passport, another Department of Homeland Security (DHS) -
approved travel document can be submitted in lieu of the passport. Only one document will be
submitted for each traveler.

II. Specific Document Submission Data

Rail APIS submissions will generally include the traveler’s full name, date of birth, gender,
DHS-approved travel document type, number, and country of issuance. All document data
should reflect the information from the travel document biographical page.

The full name consists of last, first, and, if available, middle name, exactly as it is shown on the
travel document. Do not include any letters with diacritical marks (such as ñ, é, or ü) in the
APIS manifest. Instead, substitute common English letters (such as n, e, or u). Only American
Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) letters are acceptable. The only special
characters that can be included in a name are the apostrophe (’) and hyphen (-).

The document type is a one to three character code, alphanumeric only. Do not include any
special characters. Specific codes for each document can be found in Appendix I – Document
Codes and Descriptions.

The document number is the unique number that identifies the document. This is alphanumeric
only. Do not include any special characters or spaces.

The document country of issuance will be submitted as a three-character code. A list of codes
can be found in Appendix II – Country Codes.

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III. Document Images and Examples

Passport:

The passport is the document preferred by CBP to be included in the APIS manifest. A U.S.
passport is used to illustrate the information to be submitted. This document is compliant with
the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements. If the document presented is
not ICAO compliant, there may be differences with the information presented here.

The information to be included in the manifest is found on the biographical page of the passport:

The most accurate information is found in the machine-readable zone (MRZ) of the document if
it has an MRZ.

Document Type

Country of Issuance
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 Last Name << First Name< Middle Name

Document Number – up to nine characters only

Passport Card:

The U.S. passport card is an acceptable alternative for U.S. citizens crossing at land border ports
of entry.

The MRZ is found on the reverse side of the U.S. passport card.

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 Document Type

Country of Issuance

Document Number – nine characters only

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U.S. Permanent Resident Card:

Lawful Permanent Residents of the U.S. can present a Permanent Resident Card for admission to
the United States. This document is commonly referred to as a “Green Card.” Alternatively, it
may be referred to as an Alien Resident Card. The most commonly encountered versions are
shown here.

The MRZ’s on these documents have the same format as the U.S. passport card shown
previously.

Resident cards from countries other than the U.S. are not valid for admission to the United
States.

Enhanced Driver’s License:

An enhanced driver’s license is a driver’s license that can also be used as a cross-border travel
document to enter the U.S. by land. It denotes both identity and citizenship, per the Western
Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

The following U.S. states are currently issuing this type of WHTI-compliant document:
Michigan, New York, Vermont, and Washington.

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The following Canadian provinces are currently issuing this type of WHTI-compliant document:
British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.

The MRZ on an enhanced driver’s license is found on the reverse side and has the same format
as the U.S. passport card shown previously. See www.getyouhome.gov for the most current
information on enhanced driver’s license issuance.

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U.S. Visa:

Many U.S. visas are inserted into the passport of the visa holder. In this case, the information
that should be transmitted in the APIS manifest is the passport data.

In the event that the visa is not inserted into a passport and no passport information is available,
the visa data should be sent. The most common example of this is the DSP-150 B1/B2
visa/Border Crossing Card (BCC). This visa is only issued to applicants who are citizens of and
resident in Mexico.

The MRZ on the BCC is on the reverse side and has the same format as the U.S. passport card,
but the document number to be used should be the second set of numbers after the Country of
Issuance as shown below.

Document Type

Country of Issuance

Document Number – include the leading letters

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IV. Summary
Although the document examples included in this guide are not a comprehensive list, the
examples given can be applied to other ICAO-compliant documents. MRZ’s will generally be
two lines or three lines. The U.S. passport is an example of a two line MRZ and the U.S.
passport card is an example of a three line MRZ.

APIS Guide Updates:

The most recent version of this guide can be found at:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/inspections_carriers_facilities/apis/rail_apis/.

Contact Information:

Please direct all questions, comments, or concerns about this guide to the National Rail APIS
Account Manager at RailAPIS@DHS.gov.

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Appendix I: Document Codes and Descriptions

Travel Document Names and Codes in this table are not

valid for all ports of entry. Verify which documents are
valid for land, sea or air ports of entry at
www.getyouhome.gov.
Travel Document Name Code
U.S. ALIEN REGISTRATION CARD A
U.S. ALIEN REGISTRATION CARD (1998 - 2003) A1
U.S. ALIEN REGISTRATION CARD A2
PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD C
PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD (1998 - 2003) C1
PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD C2
DRIVER LICENSE DL
BIRTH CERTIFICATE FB
FACILITATION DOCUMENT FD
ENHANCED DRIVER'S LICENSE (EDL) ID
FAST CARD IF
GLOBAL ENTRY CARD IG
NEXUS CARD IN
U.S. PASSPORT CARD IP
SENTRI CARD IS
FOREIGN MARINER DOCUMENT MC
U.S. MERCHANT MARINER DOCUMENT MD
MILITARY ID DOCUMENT MG
NATURALIZATION CERTIFICATE N
NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN/INAC ND
PASSPORT P
REENTRY PERMIT (BEGINNING 2009) PRU
REFUGEE TRAVEL (BEGINNING 2009) PTU
DHS REFUGEE TRAVEL DOCUMENT TP
DHS RE-ENTRY PERMIT TR
LASER VISA - BCC VB
VISA IMMIGRANT VI
VISA NON-IMMIGRANT VN

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Appendix II: Country Codes

Country Name / Location Description 3-Char Code

CANADA CAN
MEXICO MEX
UNITED STATES USA
AFGHANISTAN AFG
ALBANIA ALB
ALGERIA DZA
AMERICAN SAMOA ASM
ANDORRA AND
ANGOLA AGO
ANGUILLA AIA
ANTARCTICA ATA
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA ATG
ANTILLES (NETHERLANDS) ANT
ARGENTINA ARG
ARMENIA ARM
ARUBA ABW
AUSTRALIA AUS
AUSTRIA AUT
AZERBAIJAN AZE
BAHAMAS BHS
BAHRAIN BHR
BANGLADESH BGD
BARBADOS BRB
BELARUS BLR
BELGIUM BEL
BELIZE BLZ
BENIN BEN
BERMUDA BMU
BHUTAN BTN
BOLIVIA BOL
BONAIRE, ST EUSTATIUS, SABA BES
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA BIH
BOTSWANA BWA
BOUVET ISLAND BVT
BRAZIL BRA
BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY IOT
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM BRN
BULGARIA BGR
BURKINA FASO BFA
BURUNDI BDI
CAMBODIA (FORMER KAMPUCHEA) KHM
CAMEROON CMR
CAPE VERDE CPV
CAYMAN ISLANDS CYM
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC CAF

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CHAD TCD
CHILE CHL
CHINA (MAINLAND) CHN
CHINA (TAIWAN) TWN
CHRISTMAS ISLAND CXR
COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS CCK
COLOMBIA COL
COMOROS COM
CONGO, DEM REPUBLIC OF THE (FORMER ZAIRE) COD
CONGO, REPUBLIC OF THE COG
COOK ISLANDS COK
COSTA RICA CRI
CROATIA HRV
CUBA CUB
CURACAO CUW
CYPRUS CYP
CZECH REPUBLIC CZE
DENMARK DNK
DJIBOUTI DJI
DOMINICA DMA
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC DOM
ECUADOR ECU
EGYPT EGY
EL SALVADOR SLV
ERITREA ERI
ESTONIA EST
ETHIOPIA ETH
FALKLAND ISLANDS FLK
FAROE ISLANDS FRO
FIJI FJI
FINLAND FIN
FRANCE FRA
FRENCH GUIANA GUF
GABON GAB
GAMBIA, THE GMB
GEORGIA GEO
GERMANY (FORMER EAST) DEM REP DDR
GERMANY (UNIFIED, FORMER WEST) FED REP DEU
GHANA GHA
GIBRALTAR GIB
GREECE GRC
GREENLAND GRL
GRENADA GRD
GUADELOUPE GLP
GUAM GUM
GUATEMALA GTM
GUINEA GIN
GUINEA, EQUATORIAL GNQ

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GUINEA-BISSAU GNB
GUYANA GUY
HAITI HTI
HEARD AND MCDONALD ISLANDS HMD
HONDURAS HND
HONG KONG SAR HKG
HUNGARY HUN
ICELAND ISL
INDIA IND
INDONESIA IDN
IRAN IRN
IRAQ IRQ
IRELAND IRL
ISRAEL ISR
ITALY ITA
IVORY COAST (COTE D'IVOIRE) CIV
JAMAICA JAM
JAPAN JPN
JORDAN JOR
KAZAKHSTAN KAZ
KENYA KEN
KIRIBATI KIR
KOREA, DEM REP (NORTH) PRK
KOREA, REPUBLIC (SOUTH) KOR
KOSOVO RKS
KUWAIT KWT
KYRGYZSTAN KGZ
LAOS LAO
LATVIA LVA
LEBANON LBN
LESOTHO LSO
LIBERIA LBR
LIBYA LBY
LIECHTENSTEIN LIE
LITHUANIA LTU
LUXEMBOURG LUX
MACAO (MACAU) MAC
MACEDONIA MKD
MADAGASCAR (FORMER MALAGASY) MDG
MALAWI MWI
MALAYSIA MYS
MALDIVES MDV
MALI MLI
MALTA MLT
MARIANA ISLANDS, NORTHERN MNP
MARSHALL ISLANDS MHL
MARTINIQUE MTQ
MAURITANIA MRT

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MAURITIUS MUS
MAYOTTE MYT
MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF FSM
MOLDOVA MDA
MONACO MCO
MONGOLIA MNG
MONTENEGRO MNE
MONTSERRAT MSR
MOROCCO MAR
MOZAMBIQUE MOZ
MYANMAR (FORMER BURMA) MMR
NAMIBIA NAM
NAURU NRU
NEPAL NPL
NETHERLANDS NLD
NEW CALEDONIA NCL
NEW ZEALAND NZL
NICARAGUA NIC
NIGER NER
NIGERIA NGA
NIUE NIU
NORFOLK ISLAND NFK
NORWAY NOR
OMAN OMN
PAKISTAN PAK
PALAU PLW
PALESTINE (GAZA STRIP / WEST BANK) PSE
PANAMA PAN
PAPUA NEW GUINEA PNG
PARAGUAY PRY
PERU PER
PHILIPPINES PHL
PITCAIRN ISLAND PCN
POLAND POL
POLYNESIA (FRENCH) PYF
PORTUGAL PRT
PUERTO RICO PRI
QATAR QAT
ROMANIA ROU
RUSSIA RUS
RWANDA RWA
SAINT HELENA SHN
SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS KNA
SAINT LUCIA LCA
SAINT PIERRE AND MIQUELON SPM
SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES VCT
SAMOA WSM
SAN MARINO SMR

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SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE STP
SAUDI ARABIA SAU
SENEGAL SEN
SERBIA SRB
SEYCHELLES SYC
SIERRA LEONE SLE
SINGAPORE SGP
SINT MAARTEN SXM
SLOVAKIA SVK
SLOVENIA SVN
SOLOMON ISLANDS SLB
SOMALIA SOM
SOUTH AFRICA, REPUBLIC OF ZAF
SOUTH SUDAN SSD
SPAIN ESP
SRI LANKA (FORMER CEYLON) LKA
SUDAN SDN
SURINAME SUR
SVALBARD AND JAN MAYEN SJM
SWAZILAND SWZ
SWEDEN SWE
SWITZERLAND CHE
SYRIA SYR
TAJIKISTAN TJK
TANZANIA TZA
THAILAND THA
TIMOR-LESTE (EAST TIMOR) TLS
TOGO TGO
TOKELAU TKL
TONGA TON
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO TTO
TUNISIA TUN
TURKEY TUR
TURKMENISTAN TKM
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS TCA
TUVALU TUV
UGANDA UGA
UKRAINE UKR
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES ARE
UNITED KINGDOM - BRITISH CITIZEN (NORMAL) GBR
UNITED KINGDOM - BRITISH NATIONAL OVERSEAS GBN
UNITED KINGDOM - BRITISH OVERSEAS CITIZEN GBO
UNITED KINGDOM - BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES CITIZEN GBD
UNITED KINGDOM - BRITISH PROTECTED PERSON GBP
UNITED KINGDOM - BRITISH SUBJECT GBS
UNITED STATES MINOR OUTLYING ISLANDS UMI
UNKNOWN XXX
URUGUAY URY

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UZBEKISTAN UZB
VANUATU VUT
VATICAN CITY (HOLY SEE) VAT
VENEZUELA VEN
VIETNAM VNM
VIRGIN ISLANDS (BRITISH) VGB
VIRGIN ISLANDS (UNITED STATES) VIR
WALLIS AND FUTUNA WLF
WESTERN SAHARA ESH
YEMEN YEM
YUGOSLAVIA - FORMER YUG
ZAMBIA ZMB
ZIMBABWE ZWE

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