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Form I-94 Arrival / Departure Record
What Is Form I-94?
CBP Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record , is a document issued by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The purpose of the form is to gather data about the arrivals and departures of aliens who have non-immigrant visas and enter the U.S. The document was last revised on May 1, 2008 .
If a traveler is a nonimmigrant visitor not in possession of a visitor's visa and is a national of one of the countries mentioned in the Code of Federal Regulations, (Title 8, Aliens and Nationality, Part 217, Visa Waiver Program) then they must fill inCBP Form I-94W, Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Arrival/Departure Record, instead of Form I-94.
How to Get an I-94 Form?
Obtaining the document depends on how an individual enters the U.S.:
- Eligible individuals who enter the U.S. via air or sea don't need to fill in the application, CBP collects their information automatically. However if a traveler requires an I-94 retrieval, it is available on the I-94 official website. There, a filer can retrieve their I-94 number and a history of their U.S. arrivals and departures;
- Eligible individuals who enter the U.S. via land can only get the document at land border ports of entry. Each document contains a unique I-94 number, but since May 2019 it has been changed to contain ten digits and one letter.
If an applicant would like to make themselves familiar with the contents of the form, an I-94 Form sample is available for download below.
CBP Form I-94 Instructions
The application is supposed to be filled out by all individuals entering the U.S. via land border ports of entry. There is a list of travelers who are not required to fill in the document, it includes:
- Visitors arriving in the U.S. via air or sea. Their information is collected from their travel records.
- Individuals who have U.S. citizenship. U.S. citizens are not required to fill out the application.
- Returning resident aliens. Returning foreigners residing in the U.S. don't need to provide this document.
- Aliens with immigrant visas. Foreigners with immigrant visas are not requested to fill in the application by CBP.
- Canadian citizens visiting the U.S. (or in transit).
The application comes with brief guidance on how to fill it in. The document consists of two parts which must be completed by a traveler:
- Arrival Record. Individuals must designate identifying information here, such as name, date of birth, citizenship, sex, passport information, visa information, country where an individual lives, the country where an individual has boarded, individual's address and telephone number while they're in the U.S., and their email address.
- Departure Record. In this section, an individual must enter their name, country of citizenship, and date of birth.
After a traveler has completed all sections on the application, they must hand it to a CBP officer. The officer will obtain their Arrival Record and keep it, stamp the Departure Record, and hand it back to the filer. The filer must keep it and hand it to a CBP officer upon their departure.
How Long Can I Stay in the U.S. After I-94 Expires?
The Departure Record states the date when a visitor is supposed to leave the U.S. and most of the time it is a hard end date. However, if an applicant is a student or a participant of another exchange program, then the date will be stated as "D/S" - Duration of Status. It means that a filer can stay in the U.S. as long as their current visa remains valid. To check their I-94 status filers can visit the I-94 official website.
How to Extend the I-94 Date?
If a traveler needs to extend their I-94 date and stay in the U.S. longer, they should first check their admission class. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), individuals are not eligible for the prolongation if their visa category is either of the following:
- C - Alien in Transit.
- D - Crewman.
- K-1 - Fiancé(e).
- K-2 - Dependent of Fiancé(e).
- S - Witness or Informant beyond a total of 3 years.
- TWOV - Transit Without Visa.
- WT, WB - Visa Waiver Program.
Those individuals must leave the U.S. within the I-94 date because they cannot extend the date. However, if a filer's visa category allows they can try to apply and prolong their stay in the U.S., but the extension is not guaranteed. Each case is different, and the CBP thoroughly scrutinizes every situation carefully.
A traveler eligible for an extension must fill in USCIS Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, or USCIS Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, depending on a filer's visa category. They must submit it to the USCIS before the I-94 expires. The filing address depends on the visa class and the location of the traveler and to find the closest one they should check the official USCIS website.
Related Forms and Topics:
Download Form I-94 Arrival / Departure Record
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