New Form I-94 Arrival and Departure Procedure - InterExchange

New Form I-94 Arrival and
Departure Procedure
Dear Participant,
Starting April 30, 2013, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will no longer provide you with a paper copy of the Form I-94
card (DHS Arrival/Departure Record) upon your entry to the United States by sea or plane. International participants arriving by car
(most common with Canadian or Mexican participants) will still be given a paper copy of this document.
For international participants arriving through air and sea ports in New York City and Buffalo, this new process will begin the
week of May 7, 2013.
To record your entry in the U.S. the Immigration official will stamp your passport. The admission stamp will have information
about your date of entry, visa type and duration of your stay (D/S) in the U.S. The immigration official may stamp your DS-2019
Form as well.
The CBP will make your electronic I-94 record available at:
www.cbp.gov/i94
We recommend you access and print your electronic I-94 record by entering the following information located on your J-1 Visa
stamp and keep this printed copy with you when applying for important documents like your Social Security Number or other
forms of identification in the U.S.
Passport number
Date of birth
Full name
Country of origin
Date of entry in the U.S.
Class of admission (your visa type)
Please note that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept from applicants/petitioners photocopies of a
passport (including the admission stamp) in lieu of a photocopy of the I-94 as evidence of status.
According to USCIS “As evidence of lawful admission submitted with a benefit request, USCIS will accept the electronic Form
I-94 in paper format obtained from CBP’s website (www.cbp.gov/I94). This document is the equivalent of the paper version
of Form I-94 issued by CBP and USCIS. In lieu of submitting the electronic Form I-94 in paper format, USCIS will also accept
photocopies of the passport pages that contain the individual’s biographical information, visa and admission stamp. These
alternatives will allow applicants and petitioners more ways to provide proof of lawful U.S. entry in order to establish eligibility
for certain USCIS benefits. Visit our website (www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis) for a full list of USCIS forms being revised to
align with the Form I-94 automation.”
Also note that the Social Security Administration (SSA) has updated the “Program Operations Manual System,” which is SSA’s
online policy manual to add the admission stamp in the unexpired foreign passport as a type of lawful alien document. Read
the details regarding the SSA procedure here (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/public/reference.nsf/links/04162013014723PM).
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If you are not able to access your I-94 record online, please reference the How to Use the Website and Questions/Complaints
section on the website or contact the CBP office directly.
If information on your I-94 record is incorrect, please visit a local CBP Deferred Inspection Site or port of entry. To locate the
closest CBP Deferred Inspection Site go to:
www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/contacts/deferred_inspection/
The CBP will record your departure from the U.S. using information obtained from the airline or ship on which you arrived; you
do not need to present your printed I-94 record when leaving the U.S.
For more information about CBP’s Form I-94 automation, please visit CBP’s website:
www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/national/03212013.xml
and
http://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/webinars
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