[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 53 (Friday, March 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15446-15448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05758]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Streamlining I-94 Issuance at the Land Border
AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, DHS.
ACTION: General notice.
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SUMMARY: To increase efficiency, reduce operating costs, and streamline
the admissions process, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is now
issuing electronic Form I-94s (Arrival/Departure Record) at land ports
of entry. The Form I-94 documents nonimmigrants' status in the United
States, the approved length of stay, and departure information. CBP has
automated the Form I-94 process for the majority of nonimmigrants
arriving by air and sea. However, CBP previously issued paper Form I-
94s to nonimmigrants arriving by land. For land arrivals, CBP is no
longer issuing paper forms to nonimmigrants upon arrival except in
limited circumstances and upon nonimmigrant request if feasible.
Nonimmigrants can access Form I-94s online or via mobile application.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tricia Kennedy, Office of Field
Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection at
[email protected] or (813) 927-6420.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
A. The Form I-94
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) delegated its authority
to issue and process the Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) to U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP). See DHS Delegation 7010.3 II.B.5
(May 11, 2006). CBP issues a Form I-94 to certain nonimmigrants who are
eligible for admission or parole in the United States. Each arriving
nonimmigrant who is admitted to the United States, including
nonimmigrants arriving by commercial conveyances, must be issued a Form
I-94 as evidence of the terms of admission, unless otherwise
exempted.\1\ See section 235.1(h) of title 8 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (8 CFR 235.1(h)). CBP generally issues the Form I-94 to
nonimmigrants at the time they lawfully enter the United States. The
current Form I-94 documents nonimmigrants' arrival and departure
information, as well as their biographical information, such as name,
birth date, sex, country of citizenship, visa and passport information
or Alien Registration Number for certain categories of nonimmigrant,
country of residence, address and telephone number while in the United
States, and email address. For nonimmigrants admitted to the United
States, the Form I-94 becomes the evidence of the terms of their
admission. For nonimmigrants paroled into the United States, the Form
I-94 reflects the duration and classification of parole. Currently, the
Form I-94 process is automated for nonimmigrants arriving by air or
sea. For nonimmigrants arriving by land, CBP utilized a paper I-94
process that included a nonautomated electronic
[[Page 15447]]
submission option. These processes are described below.
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\1\ The Form I-94 is not required for nonimmigrants seeking
admission to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
Rather, the Form I-94W is the form required for nonimmigrants
seeking admission into the United States under the VWP. The other
categories of nonimmigrants not subject to the I-94 requirement are
enumerated in 8 CFR 235.1(h)(1).
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B. Previous Paper I-94 Process for Land Arrivals
CBP previously used a paper Form I-94 process for all eligible
nonimmigrants arriving at land ports of entry (POEs). The paper Form I-
94 consists of two parts: The arrival portion and the departure
portion. Each nonimmigrant arriving by land for whom a Form I-94 is
required completes both the arrival and departure portions of the form
either en route to or upon arrival in the United States when
applicable.\2\ The information requested on the arrival portion of the
I-94 includes: Family name, first (given) name, birth date, country of
citizenship, sex, passport number, passport expiration date, passport
issue date, airline and flight number (if applicable), country of
residence, country of boarding, city where visa was issued, date visa
was issued, address and telephone number while in the United States,
and email address. The departure portion includes fields for the
nonimmigrant's full name, birth date, and country of citizenship.
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\2\ Previously all eligible nonimmigrants would complete the
paper Form I-94. Now nonimmigrants may continue to submit their
information via the paper Form I-94 on arrival, but CBP strongly
encourages nonimmigrants to submit their I-94 information via the
website or mobile application up to seven days in advance instead.
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After the nonimmigrant completes the Form I-94, he or she presents
it to a CBP officer at primary inspection, along with his or her travel
documents and any other applicable information. Previously, after a
successful completion of the inspection process, a CBP officer stamped
the nonimmigrant's Form I-94 and passport with either an admission or
parole stamp. The CBP officer retained the arrival portion of the Form
I-94 and returned the departure portion to the nonimmigrant. The
departure portion of the form was provided to the nonimmigrant to
retain in his or her possession for the duration of his or her stay and
to surrender upon departure. In some circumstances, a nonimmigrant is
required to have the Form I-94 in his or her possession at all times
while in the United States. The nonimmigrant could present the
departure portion to establish, where applicable, eligibility for
employment, enrollment in a university, or benefits.
CBP collects the arrival portions of the paper Forms I-94 daily at
each POE and boxes and mails them to a centralized data processing
center for logging, processing, scanning, and data capture.
C. Automation of Form I-94 for Air and Sea Arrivals
Prior to the automation of the Form I-94 for air and sea arrivals,
CBP followed the same paper Form I-94 process described above for all
air and sea arrivals. In order to transition to an automated process,
DHS published an interim final rule (IFR), which amended DHS
regulations to specify that the Form I-94 could be created and issued
in either paper or electronic format. See 78 FR 18457 (Mar. 27, 2013).
On December 19, 2016, CBP finalized the changes announced in the IFR
with the publication of a Final Rule in the Federal Register (81 FR
91646). Although the regulatory changes permitted DHS to automate the
Form I-94 process for all modes of travel (air, sea, or land), CBP
stated in the IFR that it was transitioning to an automated Form I-94
process for only air and sea arrivals at that time. Pursuant to the
automated process, CBP no longer requires nonimmigrants arriving by air
and sea to fill out a paper Form I-94 in most circumstances. Instead,
an electronic version of the Form I-94 is populated with information
available in CBP's databases, including the information electronically
transmitted by air and sea carriers, as well as data from the
Department of State's Consular Consolidated Databases (CCD). Any data
element not available electronically is collected by the CBP officer at
the time of inspection and recorded in the relevant electronic system.
After a successful inspection, CBP issues an electronic Form I-94,
which the nonimmigrant can access on a CBP website, https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov, or via the CBP OneTM mobile application, by
entering details from his or her passport or Alien Registration Number
for certain categories of nonimmigrants. The nonimmigrant can print a
paper version of the Form I-94 to present as evidence of admission or
parole. The printed version is the functional equivalent of the paper
Form I-94. CBP may issue paper Form I-94s in limited circumstances and
may provide a paper Form I-94 upon request from a nonimmigrant if
feasible.
D. Enhanced Form I-94 Land Border Process
As detailed in the Final Rule, in addition to the automation of the
Form I-94 at air and sea POEs started by the 2013 IFR, CBP modified the
process by which a nonimmigrant arriving at the land border can provide
Form I-94 information and pay the related fee by adding a nonautomated
electronic option on September 29, 2016. 81 FR 91646, 91648 (Dec. 19,
2016). Specifically, CBP enhanced the I-94 website to enable
nonimmigrants arriving at a land POE to submit the Form I-94
information to CBP and pay the required fee prior to arrival. Using the
I-94 website, the nonimmigrant enters all of the required data for I-94
processing that would be collected by CBP at the POE. Upon paying the
fee, the nonimmigrant receives an electronic ``provisional I-94''. This
``provisional I-94'' becomes effective after the nonimmigrant appears
at a land POE and completes the I-94 issuance process with a CBP
officer. If the ``provisional I-94'' is not processed within seven days
of submitting the application, it will expire and the fee will be
forfeited.
The I-94 website instructs the nonimmigrant to appear at the land
POE for an interview and biometric collection. When the nonimmigrant
arrives at the POE, the nonimmigrant completes the issuance process
with a CBP officer. The CBP officer will locate the nonimmigrant's
information in CBP's database using the nonimmigrant's passport or
other travel document. This will verify that the fee was paid and pre-
populate the data fields from the document and the information provided
in advance by the nonimmigrant on the I-94 website. Prior to May 26,
2021, if the CBP officer determined that the nonimmigrant was
admissible, the CBP officer would print out a Form I-94 and give it to
the nonimmigrant.
However, as of May 26, 2021, CBP is no longer providing a paper
form to these nonimmigrants, who may now access their Form I-94 via the
website or the CBP OneTM mobile application. As of June 11,
2021, in addition to accessing their I-94 via the CBP OneTM
mobile application, nonimmigrants now also have the option of
submitting their Form I-94 information and paying the related fee via
the CBP OneTM mobile application to receive a ``provisional
I-94'' prior to arriving at land POEs.
II. Legal Authority
The IFR added to the regulations a definition of ``Form I-94'' that
allows DHS to issue the Form I-94 in either paper or electronic
format.\3\ The introductory text of 8 CFR 1.4 states that the term
``Form I-94'' includes the collection of arrival/departure and
admission or parole information by DHS, whether in paper or electronic
format. Additionally, the ``issuance'' of a Form I-94 includes, but is
not limited
[[Page 15448]]
to, the creation of an electronic record of admission or arrival/
departure by DHS following an inspection performed by an immigration
officer. 8 CFR 1.4(c). Together, these regulations authorize CBP to
issue Form I-94 in either a paper or electronic format to any
nonimmigrant eligible to receive a Form I-94.
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\3\ See 8 CFR 1.4. CBP finalized the changes announced in the
IFR with the publication of the 2016 Final Rule.
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III. Streamlining I-94 Issuance at the Land Border
To increase efficiency, reduce operating costs, and streamline the
admissions process, CBP is now issuing Form I-94s electronically and
nonimmigrants no longer receive a paper I-94 receipt. Nonimmigrants can
access their Form I-94s online through a website or via a mobile
application. CBP will no longer provide a paper version of Form I-94 in
the majority of circumstances. CBP continues to issue a Form I-94 at
land POEs only upon payment of a fee.
A. The Electronic Form I-94
As of May 26, 2021, CBP officers no longer issue most eligible
nonimmigrants a paper version of the I-94 at the time of admission or
parole. Rather, CBP issues an electronic Form I-94, which the
nonimmigrant can access on a CBP website, https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov, or
via the CBP OneTM mobile application. However, CBP may issue
a paper Form I-94 in limited circumstances and may provide a paper Form
I-94 upon request from a nonimmigrant if feasible.
The printout from the website or mobile application is the
functional equivalent of the departure portion of the paper Form I-94
and includes the terms and duration of admission or parole.
Nonimmigrants may print out a copy of the Form I-94 from the website or
mobile application and present it to third parties to establish, where
applicable, eligibility for benefits, enrollment at a university, or
eligibility for employment.
The streamlining of Form I-94 for nonimmigrants arriving by land by
providing an electronic Form I-94 saves time and money for both the
traveling public and CBP. The electronic process eliminates some of the
paper Form I-94 processing performed by CBP and will reduce wait times
at passenger processing, which will also facilitate inspection of all
nonimmigrants. The electronic Form I-94 will save the time and expenses
associated with lost Form I-94s, as nonimmigrants will simply be able
to print out new copies from the website or mobile application as
necessary, as opposed to filing a Form I-102 and paying a fee, as
previously required. This will result in cost savings for
nonimmigrants, carriers, and CBP.
B. Form I-94 Fee
For land border admissions, CBP issues a Form I-94 only upon
payment of a fee. See 8 CFR 235.1(h). Nonimmigrants intending to enter
the United States at land POEs have the option either to pay the
required fee at the border during processing or pay the required fee
online or via the CBP OneTM mobile application up to seven
days in advance of arrival.\4\ At this time, CBP is not changing the
procedures regarding the payment of the Form I-94 fee. Accordingly,
nonimmigrants arriving by land will continue to have the option to
either pay the required fee at the POE or pay online or via the mobile
application prior to arrival.
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\4\ For more information on the electronic prepayment of the I-
94 fee for land border POEs online see 81 FR 91646, 91648. For more
information on the CBP OneTM mobile application see
https://www.cbp.gov/about/mobile-apps-directory/cbpone.
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CBP strongly encourages nonimmigrants to apply and pay for I-94s
via the website or mobile application.
IV. Privacy
CBP will ensure that all Privacy Act requirements and applicable
policies are adhered to during the streamlining of Form I-94 at land
border POEs.
V. Paperwork Reduction Act
The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507(d))
requires that CBP consider the impact of paperwork and other
information collection burdens imposed on the public. The Form I-94 is
covered by OMB control number 1651-0111. There is no change to the
information collection associated with this notice.
VI. Signing Authority
Commissioner Chris Magnus, having reviewed and approved this
document, is delegating the authority to electronically sign this
document to Robert F. Altneu, who is the Director of the Regulations
and Disclosure Law Division for CBP, for purposes of publication in the
Federal Register.
Dated: March 14, 2022.
Robert F. Altneu,
Director, Regulations & Disclosure Law Division, Regulations & Rulings,
Office of Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
[FR Doc. 2022-05758 Filed 3-17-22; 8:45 am]
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