New I-94 Website & Record Format

U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) recently released a new format for the Form I-94 retrieval website and I-94 document records. On the CBP website, users can retrieve electronic Form I-94s and view their travel history including U.S. arrivals and departures. While the formats of the website and the electronic Form I-94 record have changed, the basic content has remained the same and the Form I-94 still serves its original purpose – the government’s official record of an individual’s date of entry, class of admission (e.g. visa type), and authorized period of stay. The I-94 may also be required as proof of work authorization by employers or government agencies.

Beginning in April 2013, CBP began implementing a Form I-94 automation process, in which foreign nationals no longer receive a paper Form I-94 as part of the immigration inspection process. Instead, an electronic I-94 record is created by a CBP officer at the port of entry utilizing information from the Department of Homeland Security and Department of State systems that collects advance traveler information. CBP still stamps the foreign national’s passport at the time of inspection and annotates the stamp with the class and duration of admission. At the time of inspection, foreign nationals should check the accuracy of the CBP admission stamp in their passports to help minimize the risk of error in the government database.

For more information, please contact your designated Gibney representative or email info@gibney.com.