I applied for my 1-94 online just about 6 days before crossing into Buffalo to catch a flight on December 30th. It was super easy to use the CBP website. I paid the $6 and on the day of crossing- easy peasy. The officer didn’t asked any questions. He simply looked at my document, made a few glances into his computer and told us that I’m free to go. No secondary!

It’s been a while since I’ve been on this site so forgot my username and password

[ Candy23 appended this reply on January 4, 2024 @ 3:44 pm ]

We are free to go**

@Peter99

Are you talking about the waiver you download? It specifically says "you have 30 days to download the results" because after 30 days they remove the waiver PERMANENTLY.

Why do you need to see your old waiver? Surely you downloaded a copy right?

I was working in US on a TN Visa with a 3 year I-94. Since I have applied for Waiver renewal my I-94 has disappeared from I-94 website and doesn't show up.. would it show up after my I192 is renewed? I working from Canada while my I-192 is in process. Its almost 4 months since I applied.. can anyone tell me would my 3year I-94 show up again after my waiver is renewed?

Not really, easy way that worked for me is. You travel along to border 1st time. Border guard gives you slip & ask you to park. Next go inside, they fingerprint & stamp your passport with I-94. It will have "valid till..." on it. You are good to go for any future visits.
Now secondary inspection only like everyone else which they do randomly or suspect you something.
After I get my I-94, luckly, I never pull over for secondary inspection.

I am confused by the app. Does anyone know if I am applying I-94 in advance? And then crossing over within 7 days? Travelling land border from Ontario with my family and trying to prevent a secondary if possible!?

@DaveB

Except of course, if you leave Canada for more than 6 months, I think you are no longer covered for healthcare in most provinces.

I have never heard of an exception to the "180 days in a calendar year" rule, Why would ANY officer grant that?

Also, the I94 web site and app are not very trustworthy when it comes to your crossing records. My girlfriend comes back as no crossings at all when it should be more like 10 or 12 crossings. And no, I'm not doing something wrong.

Ironically, the "you can't stay more than 6 months" out of a 12 month period isn't true either. There are no federal statues or anything in law, to that affect. Instead, the CBP uses the 6 months as a rule-of-thumb. It's based mostly on the fact that if you're here more than 6 months, then you're expected to pay taxes. That's it. But the reality is a CBP border officer could grant you a 2 or 3 year stay if they wanted too. It's 100% discretionary on their part.

Hi
I am crossing the land border and planning to apply I 94 online. In the form its asking for visa number and visa date. Any idea whats it about?

Thanks

I'm applying for the I-94 (land crossing) on the website and it's asking me for a Visa Number and the Visa Date of Issuance.

Any idea what that is regarding? Would that be the A file number on the waiver and its date of issuance?

And remember everyone, there are ALWAYS exceptions to the rule. On these cards, on visits, even handing in your waiver.

For example, one client (a man) went and handed his waiver in, no fingerprints were required and the guy barely looked at his documents. Visit time? 15 minutes.
A different client, (a female) the officer took her phone, disappeared for over an hour. Fingerprints and DNA taken. Same port.

Each of these clients would tell a completely different story about what happens when the waiver is processed. I have the benefit of multiple stories, so I can give people "scenarios". The problem for the client on here, is generally you only have your personal experience and maybe what you heard from others to go by.

For me? I have NEVER handed in a waiver, but I have taken clients in wheelchairs to the Airport (when they were open) and even fingerprinted one of them (the officers didn't want to touch him) in the back room at Pearson. i have clients almost daily calling to let me know how it went. So I kind of see my "role" here, to take the experiences of my clients, and give a broader overview that individuals would have.

A perfect example was one incident at Pearson Airport. 2 officers were doing waivers. I was in the back with a client who did not talk and was in a wheelchair. A guy was renewing his waiver. He asked "i have this card which still has a month left but my waiver is expired. Can I still visit? One officers said, "Absolutely", and the other officer then disagreed. They both were SURE they were right. They asked a supervisor to come to the office. I chimed in and said "he absolutely cannot travel without a valid waiver, regardless of the card". The supervisor agreed with me when he arrived. He asked the guy who was wrong why he thought that, and he said "at Detroit that's how we were trained". He had been at Pearson Airport for a YEAR.

Therefore, anyone who had a different experience is not "wrong". Its just not "typical" based on what "most" clients go through.

One of the fascinating things about waivers is that even when I am "right", someone will still have a different experience because Homeland Security is so inconsistent. My experienced clients KNOW how the system should work, but still get asked "why didn't you turn in that card?" when they KNOW as waiver applicants, they are NOT SUPPOSSED to. But they just apologize, and say "I will next time".

When I am told something new, my first questions is "where did you hear that?" If its one persons experience, I always suspect it is the exception, not the new "rule". But sometimes it is the signal of a change in the way of doing things as well.

" My I-94 for the 2021 trip was only issued for a period of 5 days, without them telling me. I never thought to look at the stamp to see what the date was (they always hand write it on the stamp). "

Similarly, I have been granted I-94's with validity periods shorter than 6 months. This, perhaps 3 or 4 times on some nearly 100 entries over the years crossing with waivers.

On one land crossing, an agent in secondary granted me entry …and was (like) have a nice day, and sent me on my way. Before getting in my car to leave, I noticed there was no I-94 card in my passport. Since I paid the $6, I returned and asked about the card – assuming, he perhaps simply forgot to staple it into my passport. When I approached him and asked, he smirked and said I did not need the card. He showed me where in my passport he left his stamp. It was backdated to the day before with a hand written expiry date for that same day I entered. Essentially, a visit or stay valid for the remainder of that same day. All told, that particular visit was only to pick up items in my postal box, a 30 minute turnaround. Nonetheless, the agent made the effort to ensure I visit secondary on my next entry.

Last week, at a lander crossing, a CBP agent in secondary granted me entry. No stamp, no card. As I was paying the $6, he gave me pamphlets regarding the i94 website and CBP One app. He advised me to use either and print a copy of the I-94 he just processed for me. I assume, as with previous I-94’s, it will be good for subsequent entries while valid. Moving forward, looks like no more I-94 cards for land crossings. Maybe.

Back on the topic of I-94’s with short stay validity. I think I understand what J Rogers is conveying. It could be some agents issuing cards and/or stamping visit periods of less than 6 months, are wrongly doing so. Knowingly or not. Hopefully, applying for new I-94’s in advance (via www.i94.cbp.dhs.gov or CBP One app) will systematically ensure future I-94’s are good for 6 months. And potentially good for multiple visits while valid.

@Denis

I see where the confusion is. A judge knows even LESS than the officers at the border. How would he know? He is not actually involved in anything but the legal aspects of whether someone is admissible. Homeland Security was never supposed to use the cards for the purpose they use them for, it even SPECIFICALLY says to turn it in ON THE CARD. The card has been "co-opted" for this use. They actually planned to use a completely different system, but it was never implemented.

But Homeland Security came up with this "new way" of using them when they found people were making up their own waivers and they had to suddenly scrutinize every waiver. After 9/11 the system was changed but many people were left hanging, many of them truck drivers. In 2002 Waivers were taking UP TO A YEAR. It made people desperate and some literally made their own waivers.

Anyways, Denis, I absolutely respect your opinion, although we disagree on this point, and I thank you for posting it. The more people giving information here, the better. Also, I want to point out, that I would probably agree with you if I had heard that from a judge. This is actually an issue clients call me about all the time. They get such conflicting information from different officers, its almost impossible to tell who is right and who is not.

@J Rogers We will agree to disagree. My information comes from my hearing in US Immigration Court, to which I was present, and this coming from the judge.

Once you leave the United States, whether on a waiver or not, your I-94 is no longer valid.

When anyone re-enters, they are issued a new I-94. Nobody will ever be re-admitted to the United States under a previously issued I-94.

You're right, border agents don't know and they're all over the place. For this reason, people are misinformed. Exceptions are made on occasion, from an officer who doesn't know, and as a result, we can eventually pay the price. Without a departure record, the US doesn't know how long someone has been in the US. They use I-94's to determine this.

@Denis

I am going to disagree with you, but I am happy you brought this up. This "card" is a source of much confusion, both by Canadians, and Homeland Security.

What I am telling you is based on factual information from many clients experiences, and conversations I have had with Homeland Security, mainly at the Airport.

-The card has 2 different uses.

1. For non waiver clients
-Its a departure record. If they give it to you, you need to return and give it to Canadian Border Services. It proves when you returned. It can be for ANY length of time.

2. Waiver Clients
- This is NOT a departure record. It is a method for them to do secondary inspections for 2 purposes
-first, to check CPIC
-Second to make sure the waiver is real. its not a hard document to fake, and I HAVE had clients caught for that in the past

What I am telling you is 100% accurate. YET, I still get people being told different things from time to time based on....what they are told at the border.
The Officers at the border range from experienced, to completely incompetent.

I tell my clients the same thing. Officers at the border are NOT all experts. Ask a Lawyer what a "conditional discharge" is, and they are RARELY correct...and they are LAWYERS.

I sometimes admit when I do not know something. On this topic, respectfully, I am correct, and Homeland Security is often wrong.

@Denis where did he said you don’t have to take the card out for six months?

@J Rogers I've been a huge fan of this forum and of your work for a while now. I agree with everything you say; however, your response to @SouthernBBQ is not correct.

Everyone entering the United States get's an 1-94. As you mention, when you drive over they will typically give you a card (although I've had mine stamped instead of the card while driving over as well), but when you fly you always get a stamp. Both the stamp and the card are identical in terms of purpose. And the purpose of an I-94 is to record how long you are admitted to the United States.

Most I-194's are given 6 months, that is the maximum and typical time allotted. However, each entry and I-94 are issued at the sole discretion of a CBP officer. If you have a waiver, many times, you will not be given 6 months. I learned this the hard way back in 2021. I made the assumption that all I-94's were 6 months. I stayed in the US for four months not knowing, and when entering the US on a future trip was sent to secondary, detained, and expeditiously removed from the US due to a four month over stay.

My I-94 for the 2021 trip was only issued for a period of 5 days, without them telling me. I never thought to look at the stamp to see what the date was (they always hand write it on the stamp).

What is incorrect about your reply above is that you don't have to take it out for 6-months. As soon as you leave the United States, your I-94 is expired, period. When you gain entry again, you will get a new one. They do this so that they can track your cumulative time spent in the US, which cannot be more that 6-months per year. If your I-94 didn't expire when you leave the US, they would not have a way to track your cumulative time.

You can visit https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov to track all I-94's issued.

@SouthernBBQ

When you travel with a waiver, you get a card (if you drive) or a stamp (if you fly). This means you have had a secondary, and then they leave you alone for the next 6 months.

Every waiver person SHOULD get a card or a stamp. You don't make a special trip, and you don't have to take the card out after 6 months....regardless of what Homeland Security tells you.

Now you can skip that and do it in advance online.

@J Rogers do you need a i94 if you're a Canadian citizen with a waiver? If you're just visiting for a few weeks