A NONIMMIGRANT must turn in his Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94) prior to departing from the US in order to prove that he departed within the time frame given to him at the time of arrival.
- If the nonimmigrant is departing by air or sea, he must turn in his Form I-94 to airline personnel or shipping line personnel prior to departure.
- If the nonimmigrant is departing by land and will not be returning to the US within 30 days, he must turn in his Form I-94 to the Canadian or Mexican authorities upon departure from the US
The Form I-94 is the white document that a nonimmigrant receives from a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer upon arrival at a US port of entry. It shows the date he arrived in the US and the "Admitted Until" date, the date when his authorized period of stay expires, and class of admission.
The failure of a nonimmigrant to turn in his Form I-94 at the end of his visit could result to the cancellation of his nonimmigrant visa and/or refusal by the CBP to allow him to reenter the US
According to the latest memo issued by the CBP regarding this issue, there are ways to validate your timely departure from the US even if you failed to turn in your Form I-94 when you left the US
If you departed by a commercial air or sea carrier (airlines or cruise ships), then no further action is necessary since your departure from the US can be independently verified. It is advisable, however, to hold on to your outbound (from the US) boarding pass, if you still have it, since it can help expedite your reentry next time you come back to the US
If you departed, however, by land, private vessel or private plane, you will need to take steps to correct the record. You must send your Form I-94, along with any documentation that proves you left the US to:
- DHS - CBP SBU
- 1084 South Laurel Road
- London, KY 40744
Do not mail your Form I-94 or supporting information to any US Consulate or Embassy, to any other CBP office in the US, or to any address other than the one above.
To validate departure, CBP will consider a variety of information, including but not limited to:
1.Original boarding passes you used to depart another country, such as Canada, if you flew home from there;
2.Photocopies of entry or departure stamps in your passport indicating entry to another country after you departed the US (you should copy all passport pages that are not completely blank, and include the biographical page containing your photograph); and
3.Photocopies of other supporting evidence, such as:
- Dated pay slips or vouchers from your employer to indicate you worked in another country after you departed the US,
- Dated bank records showing transactions to indicate you were in another country after you left the US,
- School records showing attendance at a school outside the US to indicate you were in another country after you left the US, and
- Dated credit card receipts, showing your name, but, the credit card number deleted, for purchases made after you left the US to indicate you were in another country after leaving the US
You must keep a copy of what you send to DHS-CBP and carry it with you the next time you come to the US Carrying those materials with you will also allow your record to be corrected at the time of entry if, for some reason, the London, Kentucky office has not yet done so. If you want to know more about this topic, please call us at (626) 331-8188 or (818) 956-8844 and schedule an appointment for your free initial office consultation. You may also visit us at www.palacioslawfirm.com.
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Attorney Eugene M. Palacios is the founder and principal of the Law Offices of Eugene M. Palacios. He has great depth of experience and a successful track record in handling employment and family-based petitions as well as PERMand naturalization applications. He is licensed as an attorney in California and is admitted to practice before US Immigration Courts, the US Central District Court, and California State Courts. He is also an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association. His offices are located at 100 North Brand Boulevard, Suite 600 , Glendale , California 91203 and at 800 South Barranca Avenue, Suite 250 , Covina , California 91723 .***
The above article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice for a specific immigration problem and does not create an attorney-client relationship between our office and the reader. It is for informational purposes only and reflects our law firm’s opinions and views on general issues.
( Published May 1, 2010 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. C2 )
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