U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has added a new function, the "traveler compliance check", to the I-94 website that allows certain visa waiver program travelers to check the status of their stay in the United States. After entering four biographic data elements, the traveler will be able to see how many days they have remaining on their admission or how many days they have remained beyond their "admitted until date." The traveler compliance check will also provide information regarding next steps and courses of action for those who have remained beyond their authorized stay. Future updates to the I-94 website will incorporate additional non-immigrant travelers. In addition, CBP is working towards emailing travelers 10 days before their expected departure date to remind travelers how much longer they can remain in the United States without overstaying the terms of their admission.
Periods of admission vary based on the traveler’s class of admission. For example, a lawful admission period can be a fixed period, or based on the completion of a certain activity, such as a student seeking a college degree.
Additionally, in September 2016, CBP launched an online I-94 application and payment option for travelers arriving at a land port of entry. Travelers can provide their biographic and travel information, and pay the $6 fee for their I-94 application online up to seven days prior to their entry.
Form I-94 provides non-immigrant visitors evidence they have been lawfully admitted to the U.S., which is necessary to verify alien registration, immigration status, and employment authorization. In May 2013, CBP automated the I-94 in the air and sea environment. The automated system allows CBP officers to create an I-94 arrival record within primary and secondary inspection processing systems at the time of inspection with passenger manifest information—eliminating the need for paper forms and manual data entry.
