Form I-94 Automation

Effective April 30, 2013, US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) will no longer require international non-immigrant visitors to fill out a paper Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record upon arrival to the U.S. by air or sea. Visitors entering at land border ports of entry will still be issued a paper form I-94.  Travelers’ arrival/departure information will be collected automatically from their electronic travel records. CBP expects this automation to streamline the entry process for travelers, facilitate security, and reduce federal costs.

CBP has phased-in the Form I-94 automation at all air and sea ports of entry, effective May 21, 2013.

With the new process, the immigration officer will stamp the travel document of each arriving non-immigrant traveler. The stamp will show the date of admission, class of admission, and the date until the traveler is admitted. Travelers will also receive on arrival a flier alerting them to go to CBP.

Please be sure to visit the CBP website and check to make sure all the information entered is correct.  Save a PDF of your automated I-94, print two copies, and submit one copy to ISO!  Include a legible copy of the U.S. entry stamp in the passport and the U.S. visa page.  The copies will be necessary when you need to show evidence of entry to the U.S. when applying for a social security number, a driver’s license, or when you are completing forms to begin work.  We urge all members of the GW international community to maintain hard copies of their immigration documents available for retrieval at all times.  This is a federal requirement!

More information on the I-94 automation can be found at US Customs and Border Protection website. 

Happy Travels!