Do I keep or turn in my I-94 when I travel

lfen
Junior Member



Joined: 19 Nov 2007
Posts: 19
Location: California

Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:51 am

 

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Hello,

I'm very confused about whether I'm supposed to keep my I-94 in my passport or return it when I leave the country. Here is what I've been told so far -

1. When I received my TN visa at the Queenston/Lewiston Bridge between Ontario & NY I was told that every time I leave the country I would need to turn in the I-94 and apply for a new one on re-entry.

2. In May I traveled to the UK, though I flew through Toronto, and the United agent took the I-94 out of my passport. I thought "no problem, this is what the immigration agent told me would happen when I got my TN Visa".

3. On my return (going through US customs in Toronto) the US customs agent berated me for turning in my I-94 and told me I wasn't supposed to turn it in unless I left the "Western Hemisphere", which of course would include half of the UK. The agent also knew I was transferring from the UK as he mentioned something about that too. I was very confused, and honestly not quite sure that he knew the definition of "Western Hemisphere" but I decided not to question him on it

Now I'm going to Germany next week, this time direct flights from the US, and I'm not sure what to do about the I-94. I did get a new one last time without too much hassle, but it completely freaked me out when the immigration officer basically yelled at me. Also, I'm on a Management Consulting Visa and switching to an H1-B in Oct (yeah!) so I'm trying not to piss anyone off in the meantime!

Thanks in advance for your help!

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Reba
Moderator


Canuck in NC

Joined: 16 Jul 2004
Posts: 1486
Location: North Carolina

Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 3:09 am

 

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I dunno, I thought you didn't have to turn them in unless it had expired. If you have a multiple entry visa, I thought you're supposed to keep it.
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lfen
Junior Member



Joined: 19 Nov 2007
Posts: 19
Location: California

Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:38 am

 

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What about the fact that it says that "you must surrender it when you leave the U.S. Failure to do so may delay your entry into the U.S. in the future."

As far as I understoond, the stamp in your passport saying your on a TN is the equivalent of a multiple entry visa, but the card needs to be turned in. Though, obviously from what I said in the first post it doesn't seem that all customs officers have the same understanding.

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Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1637
Location: Calgary

Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:47 am

 

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No, you keep the I-94 in this situation, TN-1 is a bit weird as far as that goes. You only surrender it when you finally leave (or leave to get it renewed), not intermittently leave. Do not let the airport people take it out of your passport.

The guidance is very bad on this one actually, you're not the first person to have this problem. IIRC, you don't actually need an I-94 at all to enter on TN-1, getting an I-94 is entirely voluntary, you only need it if you intend to leave during the validity of your TN-1, in which case you need to keep it.

The reason why is they want to know how long you've spent on the TN-1 in total, which is determined by when you finally hand the I-94 in. And you don't have to have an I-94 at all because of the original treaty which established that you don't need one for B-1/2 either (so they can't know how long you've spent in total - bizarre but there it is).

A case of the people writing the treaties not making them fit with US immigration law. Which is why TN-1 can't be dual-intent either, because of the way the NAFTA treaty is phrased.
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Steve.

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lfen
Junior Member



Joined: 19 Nov 2007
Posts: 19
Location: California

Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 7:44 am

 

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Thanks for the infomration Steve, very helpful.

Do you happen to know where this is written out in a formal manner? I would just like to have it printed out in case I have any difficulties on my trip next week.

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Steven
CanuckAbroad VIP



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 1637
Location: Calgary

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 10:18 am

 

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I'm sure it's on www.uscis.gov somewhere.
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Steve.

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lfen
Junior Member



Joined: 19 Nov 2007
Posts: 19
Location: California

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:19 am

 

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After much searching I found this

Thought I would share for anyone who is interested.

Basically, it states the procedure to be admitted if you have a valid I-94, and also the procedure if you don't have the valid I-94 with you.

After reading this I would say that there is no clear rule about what you are supposed to do with the I-94, however, either way should be fine.

Just another time that I've been stressing about nothing where the whole US immigration system is concerned!

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