If CBP issued an electronic Form I-94 to one of your employees upon their admission to the United States at an airport or seaport, they should be able to access it from the CBP website at http://cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/i-94_instructions/.

If they are unable to access their I-94 information from the CBP website, they should call or go to a CBP deferred inspection location to correct the problem. For more information about Deferred Inspection Sites refer to the link. In the alternative, they may file Form I-102 with USCIS and request their Form I-94; however, there is a filing fee and this process may take weeks.

Also remember, that the name as it exactly appears on the passport should be entered into the system. We find that many problems retrieving the I-94 are due to incorrect name entries.

April 29, 2013 Update:  We link to a recently released Demonstration Video that walks you through the required information to access your I-94 record and provides information how to maneuver through the fields of the online template.

Yesterday our firm participated in a CBP Stakeholder teleconference on this topic and we were surprised how much progress they have made since the last call which left us very nervous about how the automation process of the I-94 would play overall and particularly for I-9 purposes.

I have to say, after yesterday’s call, we really didn’t have any complaints. We share some of the pertinent points with you below:

1)       The website to access I-94 arrival-departure cards is www.CBP.gov/I94 .  It will be “live” the end of April as they phase in automation at air and sea ports commencing April 30, 2013.   The website will provide access to I-94 records going back two years.

2)      Electronic I-94’s will be available on the website for printing immediately upon entry (that was very good news).  So, there should be no lag time with a new employee’s ability to produce an I-94 record  when required for I-9 purposes or for social security cards, DMV, etc.

3)      When an employee changes their status inside the USA, changes employers or extends their stay, (such as an H-1B visa holder), USCIS will continue to print the I-94 records at the bottom right of the USCIS I-797 approval notices.

4)      CBP will post on their website a sample electronic I-94 for viewing.

5)      Whereas one will no longer be able to immediately check to see that the  information stamped on the I-94 matches up with their visas and I-797 approval notice, it was clear that applicants will need to be more proactive in verbally clarifying this with the CBP officers, particularly in situations when an H-1B visa holder is traveling on a still valid visa annotated with the name and validity date of a previous employer petition, but now  has a new employer USCIS I-797 approval notice with a different validity period.

6)      More on #5, it was stated that one could immediately check their I-94 on a mobile device and if there was an error, could get it corrected by getting back in line at the airport.

7)      CBP plans to provide nonimmigrants with a brochure or a list of instructions in 12 different languages upon entry concerning how to obtain their I-94’s online.

8)      The paper version of the I-94’s can still be turned in at the airport upon departure; however, they will collect departure information electronically through the departure manifest when leaving the USA.

9)      DMV was represented on the call and indicated that they were having problems with incorrect name entries and FNU’s being entered.  It was stated that the name on the electronic record will either match the name as it appears on the visa or the passport.  When accessing the record online, the name, passport number, date of birth and date of admission will be required information to access the electronic I-94 record.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call our office at 562 612.3996 or email info@immigrationcompliancegroup.com.

The Department of Homeland Security issued an update today that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is working to resolve this issue and will have a fix on September 14, 2012.

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Without any advance notice, the CBP has made changes that affect the I-9 form by no longer issuing paper I-94 cards and no longer stamping I-20 forms for F and M student visas, or form DS-2019 Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitors and Foreign Students, affecting both J and F visa holders.

Customs and Border Protection is in the process of automating traveler arrival records (I-94 cards) to streamline passenger processing. The current processing time for entering foreign visitors’ travel information into the I-94 database is 30 days or more. This does not affect the majority of foreign travelers visiting for business or leisure and will not affect any visitor’s record of departure.  But it will greatly influence how you document Section 2 of the I-9 form for the nonimmigrant employee that produces a List A foreign passport with an I-94 entry card.

PLEASE NOTE: With the newly proposed 2-page I-9 form, no guidance has as yet been provided regarding the I-94 card as an acceptable List A document in concert with a foreign passport. We will keep you posted concerning these changes as soon as we receive new guidance. In the meantime, we recommend that you print out this information and attach it to any new employee’s I-9 form who would normally produce an I-94 record (but doesn’t have one and is waiting to access an electronic version) along with a foreign passport as a List A document.

CBP has suggested the following:  Nomiggrants may need to prove their legal-visitor status within the first 30-45 days of their U.S. stay to:

Employers;
Motor vehicle registration or drivers’ licensing agencies;
The Social Security Administration;
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; or
Universities and schools.

If during this timeframe, visitors need to provide evidence of legal status they should include the following:

Unexpired foreign passport; and
Country of Citizenship
CBP Arrival/Departure Record, Form I-94 (if issued)

Contact CBP for more information or with questions.

Tel: (877) CBP-5511
TTD: (866) 880-6582

If a state benefit granting agency rejects an unstamped Form I-20/DS-2019, applicants may make an appointment with USCIS online through InfoPass and take their Form I-20/DS-2019 to their local USCIS office to be stamped. ( InfoPass ) This transitional step will end on Nov. 21, 2012.

International students and scholars who encounter issues with their state or federal benefit applications should continue to contact the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) at (703) 603-3400 or SEVP@dhs.gov.

Please feel free to contact our office should you have questions concerning these changes, 562 612.3996 or email info@immigrationcompliancegroup.com