On Tuesday, April 30, 2013, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) began implementing an automated version of Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, at air and sea ports of entry. Form I-94 provides foreign travelers with evidence that they have been lawfully admitted to the United States, which is necessary to verify alien registration, immigration status and employment authorization. As a result of this new automated process, foreign travelers will not be required to fill out a paper Form I-94 when arriving to the United States by air or sea. Instead, CBP will gather foreign travelers’ arrival/departure information automatically from their electronic travel records and create an electronic Form I-94 record.
As part of this automated process, foreign travelers will no longer be provided with a paper version of Form I-94. If a traveler requires a paper version, it will be accessible at www.cbp.gov/I94. From this website, foreign travelers can print out their Form I-94 in paper format. This document is the equivalent of the paper versions of Form I-94 issued by CBP and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). Additional information about Form I-94 automation is available on CBP’s Form I-94 Automation Fact Sheet.
Effect of Form I-94 Automation
Form I-94 automation will not disrupt adjudication of benefit requests. USCIS will accept the electronic Form I-94 in paper format obtained from CBP’s website as evidence of lawful admission. In place 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.
USCIS has begun updating certain forms to align with the Form I-94 automation process.
Implementation Schedule
As noted above, CBP began phasing in the Form I-94 automation at air and sea ports of entry on Tuesday, April 30, 2013. Implementation will continue across the country over the next several weeks, and all air and sea ports of entry that support international arrivals will be affected. For more information on the implementation schedule, please see CBP’s Travel Advisory.
Because automation only affects air and sea arrivals, a paper Form I-94 will still be issued at land border ports of entry.
If you have any questions, please contact Michael Kim at 317-977-1418 or mkim@hallrender.com, Natalie Murphy at 317-977-1481 or nmurphy@hallrender.com or your regular Hall Render attorney.
