Exit by land

If you are traveling to the United States by ship or plane, your entry at US airports or ports of entry will be processed by US Border Patrol both electronically in the I-94 Entry form, as well as noted by means of an entry stamp in the passport.

The entry stamp in your passport includes

• the day of your entry
• Your status (ESTA or applicable visa category) and
• the date by which you must leave the USA at the latest.

If you are leaving the US again by ship or plane, your departure will also be recorded electronically in the I-94.

The paper I-94 is usually only issued for overland travel.

Note: There are extensive restrictions on overland travel between the US, Canada and Mexico as of March 21, 2020. The Canada-US and Mexico-US borders are closed until at least January 21, 2022 for non-essential or non-urgent travel (Non Essential Purposes) are blocked to slow the spread of coronavirus. Fully vaccinated individuals will be exempt from these restrictions beginning November 8, 2021.

If you leave the United States by land - for example, by traveling to Canada or Mexico and then returning to your home country - your departure from the U.S. may not be properly documented. In the event that you leave the US by land and do not return to the US before the exit date noted in your passport, you should have documents ready to prove your departure from the US Exception: persons who are permanent residents of Canada or Mexico.

The following documents may serve as proof of proper departure:

• Entry stamps to other countries
• Tickets on departure (boarding passes)
• Proof of salary / proof of payment in home country or
• other documents that give information about your departure

US travelers departing via Canada can use as proof of departure from the US, for example, an entry stamp from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). US travelers leaving via Mexico, for example, use a stamp from theInstituto Nacional de Migracion (INM)as proof of departure. Please note that the burden of proof that you left the US on time is on you.

If you return to the US again before the expiration date noted in your passport, your departure from the US can be properly documented at the US border. This means that in this case, no further proof of departure needs to be provided.

In the event that you are currently in possession of a paper I-94, which is generally only issued when traveling to the U.S. by land (e.g., by entering from Canada or Mexico), you can obtain this document from the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) turn in to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) when leaving the U.S. en route to Canada or before leaving Mexico.

If you have already departed the US by land and your paper I-94 is still in your passport, the documents should be mailed (via UPS or FedEx) as soon as possible to the following address as proof of proper departure:

Coleman Data Solutions
3043 Sanitarium Road, Suite 2
Akron, OH 44312
Attn: NIDPS (I-94)

Please note that as of November 1, 2014, documents proving on-time departure are no longer processed by US consulates. This means that the US consulates are not able to make the necessary corrections in your U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Perform travel profile.