I forgot to return my i94 yesterday and I am planning to revisit USA in December . What will happen when I try to re-entry

I forgot to return my i94 yesterday and I am planning to revisit USA in December . What will happen when I try to re-entry - Turned on Iphone 5 on Prospekt Newsletter 2016

I currently living in Canada and I came back after a short visit (3 days) last night from USA. I came through Windsor and I forgot to hand over my I94 to the Canadian officials.

I am currently on work permit here and I'll be visiting us again during Christmas break ... I wanted to know what will happen if I try to re-enter. The i94 expires in May 2017 so I'll be re-enter in before it's expiry and I'll be traveling through air through Pearson airport in Toronto.

I looked at a few of the websites/forums and they said it might take a month or two to update even if I mail them back. But, ill be re-entering again by that time so I am.not sure if I should mail them.

What should I do now ?



Best Answer

I'll go slightly further and suggest that not returning the I-94 is in fact normal, and is exactly what frequent users of the land border would be expected to do. If you were to cross the land border again with the still-valid I-94 your new entry would be treated as a continuation of your previous stay and you'd be waved through without having to go inside to fill out and pay for a new piece of paper. For, say, a once-a-month (or week) land border crosser keeping the I-94 is a significant benefit both to the traveller and to the CBP since they needn't bother processing new paper on each and every entry. While the policy of treating subsequent reentries from Canada/Mexico as continuations of a previously granted stay is usually argued here to be a defense against visa runs I suspect the more important reason for the policy is to optimize land border traffic (where 80% of the entries by foreigners may occur).

You are supposed to return the I-94 before travel outside of North America, or before it expires. If you live near an airport with US preclearance the CBSA office there may accept the form. I don't know what happens when you fly to the US in possession of the form, which is kind of out of place there, but I imagine the CBP officer would just pull it himself if he's giving you a new stay.




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What happens if I-94 is not returned?

Under U.S. law, all travelers to the United States must return the I-94 or I-94W departure record cards to the appropriate USCIS authorities before departing the United States. A traveler who fails to do so may be recorded as making an untimely departure from the United States.

How long can I stay after my I-94 expires?

Staying more than one year beyond the I-94 expiration date will cause the foreign national to be barred from reentering the U.S. for a period of 10 years.

Does Uscis know when I leave the country by land?

Yes, they almost certainly do know you've left. The US processes passport details for all air passengers through a system called APIS, and ties that to the electronic I-94 (arrival and departure record). You can check your US arrival and departure history online.

Do you need to update I-94?

Now, when you renew your Passport in US, you need to make sure you update your I-94 expiration as well to be in valid legal status in US. Just having valid visa in old passport is not sufficient.



What should you do if your I-94 record is not showing up online?




Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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