8 U.S.C. § 1185
Travel control of citizens and aliens
United States · Title 8 — ALIENS AND NATIONALITY · Status: effective
Cite this
- Citation
- 8 U.S.C. § 1185, Travel control of citizens and aliens, United States, version 1 as recorded 2026-07-09, yourstate.us, https://yourstate.us/provision/431815
- Permanent ID
ys:prov:431815@1- SHA-256
afa03072fc227b8d477cb57fb1989df758fc69d7e30e0587a5e31510c00908f5
The hash is SHA-256 of this version's text, with every run of whitespace collapsed to a single space and the ends trimmed. The ID always leads back here, and checking it says whether the text you cited is still the current version.
Full text
Unless otherwise ordered by the President, it shall be unlawful—
Except as otherwise provided by the President and subject to such limitations and exceptions as the President may authorize and prescribe, it shall be unlawful for any citizen of the United States to depart from or enter, or attempt to depart from or enter, the United States unless he bears a valid United States passport.
The term “United States” as used in this section includes the Canal Zone, and all territory and waters, continental or insular, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The term “person” as used in this section shall be deemed to mean any individual, partnership, association, company, or other incorporated body of individuals, or corporation, or body politic.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to entitle an alien to whom a permit to enter the United States has been issued to enter the United States, if, upon arrival in the United States, he is found to be inadmissible under any of the provisions of this chapter, or any other law, relative to the entry of aliens into the United States.
The revocation of any rule, regulation, or order issued in pursuance of this section shall not prevent prosecution for any offense committed, or the imposition of any penalties or forfeitures, liability for which was incurred under this section prior to the revocation of such rule, regulation, or order.
Passports, visas, reentry permits, and other documents required for entry under this chapter may be considered as permits to enter for the purposes of this section.
Legislative history
The public laws that enacted or amended this section. Tallies are for the whole bill as it passed each chamber — often an omnibus covering far more than this provision — not a vote on this section alone. The law that originally enacted this section predates the public laws loaded here, so only later amendments are listed.
- Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1979House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally
- Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994House: no recorded tallySenate: no recorded tally