I was recently made aware that people travelling to the U.S. or into Canada must now complete an "Advance Passanger Information" form either electronically or in a hard copy.

see: http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelin...html?src=hp_ql

This is in addition to the Customs information that one must supply in terms of location where a person will be staying when in the county (i.e. Hotel Name, address, etc...)

Is this just more unnecessary bureaucracy or is there some kind of 'legitimate' security issue linked to the demand?

Anybody have any inside info or knowledge about the true intent behind the extra disclosure?