Form I-94, the Arrival-Departure Record Card, is a form used by
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...
(CBP) intended to keep track of the arrival and departure to/from the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
of people who are not
United States citizen
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...
s or lawful permanent residents (with the exception of those who are entering using the
Visa Waiver Program
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a program of the United States federal government that allows nationals of specific countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism, business, or while in transit for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa. I ...
or
Compact of Free Association
The Compact of Free Association (COFA) is an international agreement establishing and governing the relationships of free association between the United States and the three Pacific Island sovereign states of the Federated States of Micronesia (F ...
, using
Border Crossing Cards, re-entering via
automatic visa revalidation Automatic visa revalidation is one of a handful of exceptions to the general rule that a person who is not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident can only lawfully enter the United States if he/she has a valid visa. According to automa ...
, or entering temporarily as crew members).
[ While the form is usually issued by CBP at ]ports of entry
In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internatio ...
or deferred inspection sites, USCIS
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. It is a successor to the Immigration and Naturaliza ...
can issue an equivalent as part of the Form I-797A approval notice for a Form I-129 Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker is a form submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services used by employers or prospective employers to obtain (or amend the details of) a worker on a nonimmigrant visa status. Form ...
petition for an alien worker or a Form I-539 Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status is one of the forms issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. It is used by people currently in the United States in a non-immigrant status to change the classifica ...
application for extension of stay or change of status (in the case that the alien is already in the United States).[
]
Issuance for arriving aliens
The responsibility of issuing Form I-94 is with the CBP Office of Field Operations (OFO), a subdivision of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...
(CBP), that processes entries and exits at ports of entry
In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internatio ...
(land, sea, and air) as well as deferred inspection sites. Note that OFO is distinct from the United States Border Patrol, whose responsibility is to patrol the rest of the border to monitor for unauthorized border-crossing.
At a port of entry
The most common place of issue of Form I-94 is at ports of entry, including airports, sea ports, and land ports. The form is issued electronically at airports and sea ports but can be issued both electronically and as a paper form at land ports.[
For air and sea travel, the process begins even before the alien has departed for the United States: the alien's air and sea carrier collect information about the alien (such as passport number) and send this information to CBP.]
At the port of entry, the arriving alien is screened by an officer from the CBP Office of Field Operations. If the CBP officer is convinced, based on the alien's documentation and all other evidence submitted, that the alien can be admitted into the United States, the officer issues a Form I-94 to the alien.[
At air and sea ports, the form is issued electronically and the officer also stamps the alien's passport. The I-94 can be retrieved at any time using an online retrieval tool.] At land ports, only paper forms are issued for people who have not informed the CBP of their arrival in advance. However, in September 2016, CBP announced that land travelers who inform the CBP in advance and pay a $6 fee can get electronic Form I-94s issued at land ports of entry.
At a deferred inspection site
In some cases, the officer at the port of entry may not be able to make a decision as to whether to admit the alien. This could be due to missing documentation, need for further review of the case, need for a maintenance of status and departure bond, or other similar reasons. In this case, the port of entry can issue the alien a Form I-546, asking the alien to complete the process at a deferred inspection site, as well as a temporary Form I-94, with expiration date at most 30 days in the future. The process of admission of the alien and issuance of a long-term Form I-94 is then completed at the deferred inspection site.
Deferred inspection sites can also be used to correct errors in Form I-94s issued at ports of entry.
Exceptional cases where a Form I-94 is not issued
Form I-94 is only issued to people who are not United States citizens or permanent residents. Among these, it is not issued in the following cases:
* For people from Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
with Border Crossing Cards, if they are entering by land and plan to travel only a few miles into the United States for a short period of time. In case of longer durations of stay or travel deeper into the United States, the alien should obtain a Form I-94 at the (land) port of entry.
* For people entering via the Visa Waiver Program
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a program of the United States federal government that allows nationals of specific countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism, business, or while in transit for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa. I ...
(VWP). Historically, the CBP recorded arrival and departures under the VWP using Form I-94W. However, the I-94W is no longer used. It has been deprecated since 2010.
* For people entering the United States from one of the countries in the Compact of Free Association
The Compact of Free Association (COFA) is an international agreement establishing and governing the relationships of free association between the United States and the three Pacific Island sovereign states of the Federated States of Micronesia (F ...
. These people may be issued a Form I-94A.
* For people re-entering the United States using automatic visa revalidation Automatic visa revalidation is one of a handful of exceptions to the general rule that a person who is not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident can only lawfully enter the United States if he/she has a valid visa. According to automa ...
. In this case, the new entry is considered to have occurred using the I-94 issued at the previous entry, and a new Form I-94 is not issued.
* For crew members of air and sea vessels landing in the United States. These people are issued a Form I-95 instead.
USCIS Form I-94
In case of an extension of stay or change of nonimmigrant status within the United States, the USCIS can issue its equivalent of Form I-94 as part of the I-797A approval notice. This applies to two main types of forms:[
* ]Form I-129 Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker is a form submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services used by employers or prospective employers to obtain (or amend the details of) a worker on a nonimmigrant visa status. Form ...
, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, which can be used by a person already in the United States with authorization to change status to a temporary worker status. Note that Form I-129 can also be used by people currently outside the United States, but in that case, a Form I-797B approval notice is issued instead, and this does not include a Form I-94. Rather, in this case, the approval notice is used to obtain a temporary work visa, that the alien then uses to enter the United States and get a Form I-94 from CBP at the port of entry.[
* ]Form I-539 Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status is one of the forms issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. It is used by people currently in the United States in a non-immigrant status to change the classifica ...
, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, which is used to change nonimmigrant status or extend one's stay on an existing status (beyond the expiration date of the Form I-94). An approval of Form I-539 is always accompanied by the USCIS issuing a new Form I-94.
Note that for students on an F visa
In the United States, the F visas are a type of non-immigrant student visa that allows foreigners to pursue education (academic studies and/or language training programs) in the United States. F-1 students must maintain a full course of study. F-1 ...
, the I-94's expiration date is listed as "D/S", for duration of status. Thus, stay is extended by having the student's SEVIS record updated and a new I-20 issued, without a new Form I-94 being issued.
History
Automation at sea and air ports in 2013
The switch away from paper Form I-94 to electronic Form I-94 was carried out in 2013. The change to I-94 definition to allow for the electronic format was recorded in the '' Federal Register'' on March 27, 2013.
The rollout schedule was as follows:
* April 30: Chicago O'Hare
Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop busines ...
, Charlotte Douglas, Orlando International, Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, Miami International, and Houston's Bush Intercontinental.
* May 7: Major air and sea ports corresponding to field offices in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Buffalo, Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Tampa, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
, Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, , and Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
.
* May 14: Major air and sea ports corresponding to field offices in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
, El Paso, Texas
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
, Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
(including Alaska), Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, and Laredo, Texas
Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of th ...
.
* May 21: All remaining air and sea ports.
Availability of online history
On April 30, 2014, CBP announced a new retrieval tool that travelers could use to obtain their travel history and print their most recent Form I-94.
Availability at land ports starting late 2016
In September 2016, CBP announced the availability of electronic Form I-94 at land ports for travelers who registered in advance and paid a $6 fee.[
]
See also
*Form I-539 Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status is one of the forms issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. It is used by people currently in the United States in a non-immigrant status to change the classifica ...
*Electronic System for Travel Authorization
The Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) is an automated system that determines the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). ESTA was mandated by the Implementing Recommendations o ...
*Visa Waiver Program
The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a program of the United States federal government that allows nationals of specific countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism, business, or while in transit for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa. I ...
*Automatic visa revalidation Automatic visa revalidation is one of a handful of exceptions to the general rule that a person who is not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident can only lawfully enter the United States if he/she has a valid visa. According to automa ...
References
{{reflist, 30em
External links
CBP I-94 website
I-094
I-094