Immigration
More on Obtaining Printouts of I-94 Records
It appears that one of the most common and persistent challenges arising from the automation of Form I-94 for nonimmigrants is the inability to locate the electronic admissions record on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website, even after confirming that the data was entered correctly. This is particularly problematic for those individuals admitted to the U.S. in a nonimmigrant category that authorizes temporary employment, because Section 1 of the Form I-9 must be completed and USCIS policy requires those individuals to provide a Form I-94 admission number.
Because there is no time lag between the entry of the data and data accessibility on the I-94 website, as confirmed by CBP, the nonimmigrant who wants to obtain a printout at the airport can use a smartphone to confirm that the information is online. If the foreign national has already left the secured inspections area, he or she can proceed to the deferred inspections office to obtain assistance locating the record or obtaining a printout of the record. The CBP deferred inspection offices also will accept telephone calls from nonimmigrants, or their designated representatives, to assist in locating the I-94. But individual callers may have difficulty in resolving the matter by phone if the officer has privacy concerns about whether the person calling is the nonimmigrant.
How Does CPB Populate the Data Needed?
CBP advises that the I-94 information is populated, in part, from information from the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) and the traveler’s visa, if he or she possesses one. Upon admission, the CBP officer inputs the class of admission, the admission date, and other relevant information as applicable — such as SEVIS number, occupation, etc. For the name, the information comes from the machine readable zone of the passport.
Tips for Locating I-94s
To avoid common problems in locating an I-94, the following are a few tips at the time of admission:
- Travelers should confirm that the information provided to the airline carrier at the time of admission is correct, including the passport number.
- Travelers should confirm that all information on their admission stamp in their passport is correct once they have been admitted and prior to departing the secure inspections area.
- Travelers with multiple visas need to be sure they identify which visa they will be using when they apply for admission.
Before travelling, travelers should make sure that the information they have stored in their frequent flyer programs is up to date. For example, if a traveler has not updated his passport number and the old number is pre-populated from his frequent flyer account into the carrier’s records, this can cause a problem.
Travelers having trouble retrieving their I-94s are advised to try the following techniques:
- Enter the first and middle name in the First Name field;
- Switch the order of the first and last names;
- Enter multiple first names or multiple last names without spaces;
- Check for multiple passport numbers;
- Refrain from entering the year if the year is included in the passport number;
- Check and compare the designated classification on the visa with the designated classification on the admission stamp.
Statutory Limit of U Visas for Victims of Certain Crimes Reached for FY2014
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced it has approved the statutory maximum of 10,000 U visas until Oct. 1, 2014, the visa classification granted to eligible victims of certain qualifying crimes who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse and are willing to help law enforcement authorities investigate or prosecute those crimes. USICS will continue to review pending petitions for eligibility and advises that it will send a letter to all eligible petitioners who are not granted the visa because of the cap, notifying them that they are on a waiting list to receive a U visa when visas again become available. USCIS reminds petitioners and qualifying family members that they must continue to meet eligibility requirements at the time the U visa is ultimately issued.
In recent correspondence from at least one of the regional services centers, USCIS acknowledges that U visa applicants with approvable applications will need some sort of relief, but what that relief will be is still under discussion. The Vermont Service Center indicated that it may issue conditional approvals to those applications processed after the cap was reached and such applicants could apply for work authorization. That service center is also contemplating issuing deferred action until visas become available. Those impacted should consult with their immigration attorney regarding what options may be available to them.
Dilip Patel of Shutts & Bowen LLP, a Florida Bar board-certified expert on immigration law, can be reached at (813) 227-8178 or e-mail [email protected]