The International Scholars Office (ISchO) would like to announce an important change in the arrival procedure for international travelers at U.S. air and sea ports:
- Starting in late April/early May 2013, most international travelers who arrive at air or sea ports will no longer be given a paper Form I-94 arrival/departure record (“I-94 card”). Instead, they will be inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) upon entry and an admission stamp will be placed in their passport. They will also be given instructions to go to http://www.cbp.gov/I94, input their biographical information and passport number, and print an electronic I-94 admission record. This new process will be “rolled out” over several weeks. Boston’s Logan airport is expected to implement it starting May 7.
- We recommend that you print an electronic I-94 admission record every time you return from a trip outside the U.S. and keep it with your passport/immigration documents in case you need to present it to government agencies (e.g. Registry of Motor Vehicles [RMV], Social Security Administration [SSA]) or other campus offices.
- An instructional video can be found at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/jsp/CaptivateVideo.jsp. You may also read CBP’s official announcement at http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/newsroom/fact_sheets/travel/i94_factsheet.ctt/i94_factsheet.pdf.
Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions or report to us any inconvenience you may face with other government agencies regarding your admission stamp/electronic I-94 record.
*Important Notes*
- Scholars and family members with paper I-94 cards currently stapled into passports do not need to do anything at the present time. Paper I-94 cards will continue to serve as valid proof of status. However, the next time the scholar and/or family members travel, the old I-94 cards will be removed upon departure from the U.S., and the new process will be applied to them upon their return.
- Scholars with I-94s issued as part of a USCIS approval notice (after receiving approval of a petition for change of status to H-1B, O-1, etc.) should staple the I-94 portion of the notice into their passports. These scholars do not need to do anything at the present time. They will be treated as stated above.
- Arrival procedures at U.S. land ports of entry are not expected to change. Scholars and family members making an initial entry to the U.S. through a land port of entry will continue to be given a paper Form I-94.
- Under limited circumstances, some scholars may still receive a paper Form I-94 at an air or sea port of entry, which should be kept in the passport until the next trip abroad unless other special instructions are given by the CBP officer at the port of entry.
As always, we recommend that you stop by our office before you travel with your passport and immigration documents so we can make sure they are in order and give you an updated copy of our travel advisory if needed. Our travel advisory can also be found on our website at http://web.mit.edu/scholars/intlscholars/travel/advisory.html.
International Scholars Office