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Updated on 08.11.2022
It is becoming increasingly rare for travelers to receive a stamp in their passport at border control in the USA. How can you check your exact entry and exit dates?
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When traveling to the USA, it is now increasingly rare to receive a stamp in your passport at US border control. Travelers are unsettled and fear possible negative consequences. What is really behind this?
What was a normal entry process for decades is now becoming a rarity. More and more travelers to the USA are surprised that they can no longer find a stamp in their passport after passing through border control. Depending on their residence status, many travelers also fear that they will have problems when re-entering and leaving the country without a stamp because they have no proof of previous stays.
As people who enter the country visa-free with ESTA or a US visa only receive a specific time limit for their stay once they have successfully entered the country, they are unsettled.
The reason for the increasingly stamp-free entry is the advancing digitalization, which means that many paper processes are no longer necessary. All entries and exits continue to be registered online by the CBP border authority, but are no longer as easy to check by the traveler themselves immediately after crossing the border as with the entry stamp.
Previously, the stamps could prove the date on which a person entered the USA, with which status (US visa or ESTA) and how long the actual physical stay in the USA was authorized.
The CBP has now announced that the entry stamp in passports will be phased out. Some major airports in the USA have already implemented this. The not entirely new alternative remains the digital I-94 form, which travelers can subsequently check online on the official I-94 website.
The advantage of the digital forms is faster processing at the borders of the United States and, as a result, a national security system through which the status of all travelers can be digitally recorded and checked by various authorities. This digital entry form was introduced back in 2014, but travelers still received a stamp when passing through US border control.
When leaving the country by air or sea, the transportation companies (airline or shipping company) will continue to be responsible for forwarding passengers' departure information. Therefore, travelers can rest easy if their passport is not stamped when entering or leaving the USA, as everything is done digitally.
Individuals who wish to view their approved residence status after entering the US can access it online via the digital I-94 form in the "Get most recent I-94" section. We advise all travelers to immediately retrieve the I-94 form online and check it for correctness.
It is recommended that you also keep the flight tickets that serve as proof of travel dates. Travelers who have entered by land from Mexico or Canada can also use the exit stamp from their country of origin.
To find out how long you are allowed to stay in the USA, you must complete the following steps after entering the country:
The advantage of the entry stamps – soon to be a thing of the past – was the ability to check the entries immediately after crossing the US border. This meant that if travelers discovered errors (e.g. wrong visa category, incorrect date, etc.), these could usually be corrected directly at the border counter after a brief consultation.
With the elimination of the entry stamp, the information in the I-94 can only be accessed online via the I-94 website after entering the US (usually one day later). If errors are then discovered, a possible correction is somewhat more complicated, but not impossible:
Those affected can contact one of CBP's more than 70 Deferred Inspection Sites in the USA. The website of the CBP lists all offices that are either directly connected to US airports or located in larger cities. As a rule, travelers should contact the office nearest to where they entered the country.
Some offices offer the option of sending a request by e-mail and asking for a correction. At other offices, it is sometimes necessary to come in person with an appointment. In any case, you should be able to provide information about the error in the I-94, have your passport and, if applicable, your US visa ready or enclose copies of these documents.
Sources:
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/cbp-begins-elimination-of-entry-stamps-8368022/
https://www.kramerlevin.com/en/perspectives-search/cbp-begins-elimination-of-entry-stamps-to-travelers-upon-arrival.html
https://www.lluislaw.com/my-passport-wasnt-stamped-when-i-entered-us/
https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/i-94
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