The Customs & Border Protection Agency (CBP) has announced that it is planning to phase out the paper I-94 form. With few exceptions, foreign nationals entering the United States have a paper I-94 form stamped into their passport. The I-94 indicates the passport holder’s immigration status in the United States, proves that a person has been inspected and admitted into the United States, and shows when a person’s immigration status expires.
To put it bluntly, the I-94 is important to any non-US citizen in the United States as it can (and is) used by various government and private entities to determine the I-94 holder’s eligibility and work authorization.
In place of the paper I-94, the CBP plans to create a computer-based database containing the I-94 information. Eventually, the CBP hopes to make it possible for individuals to check their information on the database to discern their I-94 information. The CBP will also continue to stamp the entrant’s passport.
The prospect of having an accessible, paperless database where an individual can check their entry information is exciting (as much as immigration law can be), and will be a great step forward for immigration law procedure within the United States. However, as the government moves in that direction, foreign nationals should expect to encounter some bumps in the road as many entities will not know about, or easily accept, that the paper I-94 card is (in the near future) disappearing.
Lets hope the government works to smooth those bumps and works quickly to make the database accessible to entrants.