Hello, this is Matsui from IMS Legal Professional Corporation. It has been 100 days since the beginning of the second Trump administration. During this period, there seems to have been a surge in important news for foreign nationals entering or residing in the U.S., such as measures against illegal immigration, cancellation of student visas, and stricter foreigner registration requirements. Today, I would like to provide information about the increasingly important I-94.
What is the I-94?
Some of you may remember that, not long ago, when entering the U.S., passengers had to fill out a long rectangular paper form on the plane with personal details. Upon arrival, this form was submitted along with the passport during immigration inspection. If entry was granted, a stamp was placed in the passport, and the stub of the form was stapled into the passport. The stub would then be collected at the airline check-in counter when departing the U.S.
In today’s digital age, filling out forms on the plane is no longer required, and passport stamps are no longer given. So how can you confirm your authorized period of stay when entering the U.S. on an ESTA or non-immigrant visa?
Some people mistakenly believe that the visa expiration date equals their authorized period of stay, but that is a major misunderstanding. The visa expiration date only indicates how long the visa itself is valid. The actual period of stay is determined at the discretion of the immigration officer at the time of entry. Currently, your period of stay is managed through the I-94. This entry/exit record has always existed, but with the elimination of passport stamps, its importance has significantly increased.
You can easily check your own I-94 record by entering your passport number and personal information. When visiting the I-94 website, you’ll find a bar at the top with various options. Click on “Get Most Recent I-94” and enter the required information to view your latest I-94—that is, your most recent U.S. entry record. It will show when and where you entered the U.S., under what visa status, and what your authorized period of stay is.
It is important to check this information as soon as possible after entering the U.S. to confirm that your entry details are accurate and to know your exact period of stay. If you find any errors in the record, you must promptly contact CBP (Customs and Border Protection) and request a correction.
When you click on “View Travel History” next to it, you can view your U.S. travel history for the past five years, provided it was with the same passport. This will show when and where you entered and exited the U.S., so if you need to confirm your travel history for a non-immigrant visa application or other purposes, please refer to this section.
Currently, if you are staying in the U.S. and click on “View Compliance” on the right side, you can check your remaining days of authorized stay. Please make good use of this function to avoid overstaying.
Note that I-94 information is linked to your passport. If you obtain a new passport and try to search with the new passport number before traveling to the U.S., no records will appear. However, in most cases, once you enter the U.S. even once with the new passport, your previous travel history linked to the old passport will become accessible under the new passport number.
The Importance of the I-94
Avoid Unintentional Overstay!
It’s a common misconception that entering the U.S. with ESTA always grants a 90-day stay. There have been cases where, after frequent visits, a person was only granted a 2-week stay during a subsequent entry, but did not notice and ended up overstaying by about two months. Additionally, if an ESTA traveler briefly visits Canada or Mexico and then returns to the U.S., the I-94 record is usually not reset, and the original period of stay continues from the first entry. Please refer to related articles for more details.
Also, be cautious when your passport has a short validity period. It's common to be granted a stay only until the passport’s expiration date. This is particularly important for those relocating with family members. In Japan, children's passports are valid for only five years. There have been cases where a child was given a shorter period of stay due to a soon-to-expire passport, and the family failed to notice until the child had overstayed. If you overstay, your visa becomes invalid and you will need to apply for a new one to re-enter the U.S.
Mandatory Foreign Registration and Carrying of Registration Documents for Foreign Nationals
As of April 11, 2025, the requirements for foreign registration and the obligation to carry registration documents in the United States have been strengthened. Foreign nationals aged 18 and over are now legally required to carry at all times a registration document issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), such as an I-94, Employment Authorization Document (EAD), or Green Card.
Therefore, individuals entering the U.S. on ESTA or a non-immigrant visa must obtain their I-94 from the "Get Most Recent I-94" section of the official website after entry, print it out or save it as a PDF on a smartphone or other device, and carry it at all times. Failure to comply with this obligation may result in penalties, and if deemed intentional, may lead to deportation.
We hope this clarifies the importance of the I-94. Please be sure to check your I-94 immediately after entering the U.S. and take all precautions to avoid any issues.
Please note that the information provided in this blog is current as of now. It is your responsibility to check the latest information on official government websites.
For more information, please contact us below ↓
https://imsvisa.support/en/contact/
