FOIAFiler Request Library
How to Request Your Border Crossing and CBP Records
CBP is usually the first federal component to try for your own entry/exit history, inspection records, referrals, border encounters, and related Customs and Border Protection records.
Likely records custodian
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ↗Department of Homeland Security
Starter request language
All records reflecting my entries to and exits from the United States, inspections, referrals, encounters, and related travel-history records for the period [date range].
Make the request easier to process
- Use your full legal name and any former names used during travel.
- Give the date range you need rather than “all time” if possible.
- Identify ports of entry, airports, border crossings, or approximate travel dates when known.
- For a first-party request, follow CBP identity-verification instructions on the official request page.
Watch for this: Immigration and travel records are fragmented. USCIS may hold A-File and benefit records, ICE may hold enforcement records, and EOIR may hold immigration-court records.
Search before filing
Check the agency’s reading room and FOIA.gov’s government-wide search first. If the records are already public, you can avoid a new request entirely.